Holiday Engagement
by ErickaBff123
Summary: Vincent is talked into a bet where he has to find the one. A girl he must woo & propose to by Christmas, the same girl who will turn out to be Catherine, who he doesn't know just recently swore off men after calling off her engagement. RATING may change to M ;)
1. Chapter 1: The One

Here is the first chapter I promised would be posted mid to late November haha! Enjoy! And let me know what you think of it! Excuse my errors!

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><p>Chapter 1: The One<p>

_**Catherine **_

Catherine smiled to the women as she picked up another gift. They all surrounded her like a typical group of high school girls as she lifted the lid off the paper box. She deliberately removed the gift bag paper filler and her eyes shined at the present in front of her. It was a set of towels with her and Zach's name printed on them.

"Ahhh." She released in awe as she picked up the red and white cotton material. "Personalized towels!" She said, showing the other women her gift. They all looked thrilled and clapped their hands in excitement.

"Very chic Beth." She said, smiling to her friend who had purchased the item. Beth was a good friend from High School and was going to be in her wedding.

"Thank you." Catherine said to her as she folded the pieces back into the box they came in.

"And the best part is.." Beth started as she leaned over to point to the towels, "you can have the embroidery removed if, you know, things get a little-"

"Okay!" Chimed in Heather, Catherine's sister. She stopped Beth before she went any further. Beth gave her an odd look before shrugging her shoulders and sipping the champagne in her hand.

"One more gift and..." Heather said as she leaned down to pick up the big bag. "Then we'll start the games." Heather said quirky and Catherine gave her an odd look before laughing. She stood up to meet her sister half way and retrieve the heavy bag.

Catherine placed the bag beside her in the living room chair she was resting in. Her hands dug through the bag as she flashed her little sister a delighted smile, knowing it was her gift. Heather smiled warmly at her as she pulled the silver snow globe out of the bag.

Catherine heard the girls reaction as she stared down into the globe. Everyone reacted but her as she looked down at the picture inside the crystal ball. It was a picture of her and Zach and it took a moment before she finally smiled and looked up at her sister.

"It's beautiful." She said softly and Heather sighed in relief.

"I knew you'd love it! It's to commemorate your and Zach's first Christmas together..as husband and wife." She added on as she bounced with joy.

Catherine kept her small grin intact as she shook her head before looking back down at the gift.

They watched her for a seconds before Heather blurted out they should make a toast. One of the girls handed Catherine a glass of Veuve Clicquot as they all stood up and crowded in a circle. Heather rose her glass first and everyone else followed.

"To Catherine and Zach.." Heather said in her chipper mood before giggling, "may you enjoy a lifetime of..marital bliss and happiness."

Catherine swallowed thickly as a picture of her future with Zach flashed into her mind. She cared for him, she did...but it was almost impossible to imagine a real future with him. Did she really want to marry him?

Catherine let the thought dance away and she smiled, quickly recovering from her doubts. "Cheers." She said and the girls echoed the room with the word as well as they all clinked their glasses.

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><p><em><strong>A little later<strong>_

Heather walked into the kitchen to see her sister standing there, gazing into space. She frowned a little when she saw Catherine was wearing a mopy expression as she played with a snack on the tray.

"You okay?"Heather asked as she set her glass down. Catherine instantly looked up at her, with her fixed smile and quickly nodded her head.

"Yeah! I'm great.." She pulled off as Heather gave her an unsure look. Catherine ate the appetizer she was judging recently and looked back to her worried sister.

"Mhmm.." Heather said as she stacked all the empty trays.

"Thank you." Catherine said genuinely as Heather looked to her as if to say _"for what?"_

"For doing this..again." Catherine said a bit disturbed that she was doing this another time.

"Hey, what are sisters..slash roommates, slash business partners for huh?" She questioned which made Catherine laugh. She placed the napkins on the plates with the snacks, preparing them for their guest.

"What's a wedding without a shower?" She inquired with a glint of humor.

"Well, I wouldn't know." Catherine reminded her as she watched her sister. Heather looked to her and stopped what she was doing.

"Your gonna do it this." She said with confidence, mainly trying to convince herself she was right. "I mean..three's a charm, right?" She joked and they both ended up laughing.

"Yeah, right." Catherine said before releasing the breath she was holding. She ate another appetizer and began to feel some of her anxiety go away.

"Plus, if you don't.." She said giving her a serious look, "Mom will start thinking you're gay too. We can't all crush her dreams of those adorable grand-kids." She said with a hint of disgust.

Catherine gave an unpleasant reaction as well as she rolled her eyes. "Oh god.." She screeched out. That's all her mom talked about lately. Her getting married and popping out babies.

Heather snickered to herself as she nudged Catherine in the side. "Come on." She forced her along as she grabbed the platter of food. "Let's get back in there before Beth turns this into a bad 80's dance party." She hurried.

Just then, they both heard the sound of the drums and old techno music blaring from the living room. The girls cheered and Catherine looked back to see Beth getting her "groove" on and the other girls buzzed and dancing along.

Catherine shook her head and looked to her sister whose mouth was open in disbelief. "Too late." Catherine said as she withheld her giggles.

Heather sighed and just decided to join in. She grabbed Catherine's hand and drug her along. They both walked back into the open room and began pumping their fist to the beat.

_**One Month Later**_

_**Wedding Day**_

The sound of the violin and the cello played softly inside the church as everyone was walking in and taking their sits. Today was the big day, the day she would marry Zach.

Catherine stood up straight, looking at the reflection of herself in the mirror. Her white gown was on and she looked certainly stunning as her mother laid her head-piece in her hair that carried her veil. Catherine's mom, Vanessa, stared at her daughter in awe. She pulled the trailing of the veil back and made sure everything on her looked absolutely perfect. She didn't even notice the unsure look on Catherine's face as she peered down at her bouquet of cream and red flowers.

"Mom?" Catherine blurted out, looking to her mom in the mirror.

Vanessa's eyes stayed on the attire instead of Catherine as she replied nonchalantly, "Mmhmm?" She responded to her daughter.

"Remember when we talked about the difference between loving someone and...being in love?" She asked nervously.

Her mother gave her a pointed look before fluffing out her veil some more.

"Nope. Not at all." She lied as she tried to stay positive about this day. She didn't want her daughter having second thoughts. "Love is love." She said, which made Catherine look back at her.

"Mom." She let out in a _really_ sort of way and Vanessa gave her an innocent look.

"I'm sure you dated other guys before Dad. And maybe you even...loved some of them." She tried and Vanessa looked a bit speechless, with lack of words to say. She just returned Catherine's focus back to the mirror.

Catherine stared at her mom in the mirror, trying to have a serious talk with her. "How did you know Dad was the one?" She begged as her mother fiddled with every tiny error.

Vanessa finally stopped pestering around and gave her daughter a smile, "By marrying him." She declared and Catherine squinted her eyes at her. She decided to remain quiet and just let it go since her mother clearly wasn't listening.

"Let's go!" Vanessa told Catherine as she pulled the bottom of her dress out. Catherine took in a deep breath and nodded her head. She was beginning to feel the same feeling she did the other two time's she tried walking down the aisle. And neither time did she make it to being married. She always ran.

Vanessa told Catherine to smile like she was a little kid. Something definitely had to be off if your own mother is happier than you on your wedding day.

Catherine put on her big smile as she made her way out the room with her mom right on her toes. Her hands tightened on her bunch of roses and pedaled flowers, causing her hand to turn two shades lighter.

The little girl paraded down the aisle in her white dress and full basket in hand. She tossed the rose pedals around the floor as she skipped through the crowd of people who thought she was adorable. She made it to the front of the church and then followed Heather.

Heather stepped systematically in her strapless, wine-colored bridesmaid gown. Vanessa smiled at her beautiful daughter as she already got to her seat in the front row. Heather was the last girl to walk in and stand with the other bridesmaids.

Then walked out Catherine. Everyone stared at her as she made an appearance. They all rose to their feet and her mother went crazy taking photos, even when they had hired a person to do just that.

Catherine smiled nervously as she saw Zach waiting at the altar. He was wearing a black suit and a white dress shirt underneath. He rocked a red bow tie and his hair was combed back for a change for the occasion. He stared at Catherine in admiration and thought he was too lucky to end up with her.

Catherine slowly start ease her worry until she saw Zach return a dap to his best man. She fought off the mucky face she wanted to divulge in and started to make her way down the aisle with her father, Tom.

She linked arms with him and he whispered to her that she looked beautiful. She smiled at his words slightly.

She smiled at everyone that was watching her, all her friends and family that came to yet another one of her big days. The closer she got to Zach, the more her heart thumped and her brain questioned her life choices.

She continued to give forced smiles, one her Mother didn't even see through. She wanted to scream when her Dad began to pull away and give her away to his future son in-law. Or maybe just to Zach. Even as she walked up to him and caught his big smile, she still couldn't see herself with him forever.

Before the preacher could say or utter a single word, Catherine found herself walking pass Zach and the altar itself. She saw the side door to the church in sight and rushed to it like Mr. Right himself was waiting outside.

The music took a dramatic turn as it died down and Zach called out to her confused. She pulled the door open and rushed outside and as far away from the church as soon as possible. Zach looked to her dad for an exclamation but no matter who he questioned, no one had any answers. Everyone in the church began to chatter away confused as well and Vanessa rested her hand in her palm yet again. This was the third time. The third time that Catherine had walked away. She didn't know if she would ever be happy and go through with it.

_**Later **_

Catherine wiped her messy mascara off her face from her excessive crying. She tried to pull herself together as she designed another layout for her and Heather to work on. She matched the fabrics and all with the furniture in the pictures. She just needed to do anything to keep her mind off what she had put everyone through again.

The front door opened and in walked a tired Heather. She saw Catherine the second she walked in and Catherine turned around in surprise.

"Hey!" Catherine said in an unusual happy voice. "What do you think about doing a crushed velvet and chrome for Aunt Kate's house, huh?" She asked, trying to focus on the different colors and fabrics in her hand.

Heather walked slowly to her as she was witnessing her sister have an obvious melt down and a round of denial.

"With maybe a gray tile.." She vocalized with a shaky voice. "But I really love um..a nice gray couch with some purple pillows and..maybe a chrome lamp." She managed to say as she sniffled. She looked back to Heather who was still quiet and looked really concerned.

"Right?" Catherine said, trying to get her to speak or something. "I mean it's perfect for her-"

"What happened?" Heather asked as she walked into the room. She sighed in relief after pulling off her heels.

Catherine shook her head and threw the fabric down. "Ugh! I don't know!" She said honestly, plumping down in the chair close by. She ran her hands through her hair, getting frustrated with herself.

"I have no idea!" She said, raising her hands. "I mean..I really thought I could do it this time! You know, and then..and then..I saw him Heather!" She conveyed looking up to her sister who was listening intently. "I saw Zach at the alter and I just...suddenly I just felt. God I just felt so..." She tried to say, not being able to formulate the right words.

"What?!" Heather rushed her, trying to understand.

Catherine tried to emphasize what she wanted to say with her hands as she bit her tongue.

"I—I care about him, you know? I mean I really, really care about him. I just..I don't..."

"Love him?" Heather finished her sentence as she sat beside her sister.

Catherine rested her hand against her mouth and shook her head no, finally being able to tell the truth.

"No, not like that." She spoke honestly and Heather just sighed and looked at her sister.

"God, what is wrong with me?!" Catherine said, asking her sister seriously. "I mean..I've broken not one, not two, but three. Three engagements." She said matter of fact as her hand showed three fingers.

Heather shrugged her shoulders, "Well..you came pretty close to sealing the deal this time."

Catherine groaned and bit on her bottom lip, "How is he?" She suddenly asked and Heather looked up at her.

Heather fiddled with the back of her hair and looked around. "After you left, he kind of put his fist through the pulpit."

Catherine's foot landed on the ground off the couch in reaction and she drowned her head in the crossing of her arms as she grumbled.

"Reverend Macy was _really_ nice about it though." Heather said, trying to make her feel any type of better, knowing that-that didn't matter.

"Ughhh I should of never said yes." She cried out as she kept her head down.

"Probably." Heather quickly said and Catherine's head shot up.

"Heath..he asked me to marry him in front of fifty thousand basketball fans." She brought up and Heather opened her mouth, but didn't have anything in return.

"Did you want me to break his heart on a one hundred foot jumbo tron?"

"Is it any worst than breaking his heart at his own wedding?" She responded and Catherine groaned to herself again at the realization of what she'd truly done to him. She embarrassed him in front of everyone.

"Your right.." She finally concluded. "That was pretty awful. I'm awful." She said to herself and Heather laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Catherine, that's not what I meant."

"No." Catherine said looking at her and she pushed her hair back. She did some thinking to herself and came to a resolution. "You know what, that's fine. I'm clearly not meant for the whole marriage thing so..this is it. I'm done hurting people. No more wedding planning. No more engagement parties. I'm done!"

"Don't say that." Heather urged, trying to get her to get it together. "Okay, yes..Evan, Patrick and Zach..their all really great guys. But if you weren't feeling it than maybe they just..weren't the one."

"The one." Catherine said in amusement. "Really Heath? And when do I know when I meet the one, huh? Is there going to be fireworks booming? Or sirens flashing, is that how I'm gonna know?" She went on, determined that she'd never find the one. He most likely didn't exist, or so she thought.

"I think it just..happens.' Heather said, not having any other way of explaining it. "You know when you know."

"Well.." She said in return as she rose out the chair. "Unless there's some sort of guarantee..I'm done." She said seriously and Heather nodded her head with her sister's decision. It sadden her but if that's what she wanted to do...than she'd support her.

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><p><em><strong>Vincent<strong>_

He was in his new apartment, playing poker and stuff with three of his pals from the office. Basically, a typical guys night.

"Two pair." Matt said as he laid his cards down and he looked to Vincent who could decide if he won or not.

"Straight." He said, dropping his cards down for them to see. Vincent smirked as they all huffed in disbelief that he won again.

"I don't believe it!" Charles said, starting to think Vincent was cheating. "Puckett aces and you still beat me!"

"5,7 why would you even play that hand?" Matt asked his best friend and Vincent just shrugged his shoulders as he collected his wins.

"Sometimes it's better to run good than play good." He said to them and Charles still shook his head and said _unbelievable_ before gulping down his beer.

"Hey, I can't help it if I got the luck of the Irish in me." He said with a fake accent, resulting in a pleased smile.

"Alright, easy McTernan, you're not that lucky all the time." Matt shot back and Vincent shook his head as he laughed.

"You sure about that?" He asked with his raspy voice. "Are you forgetting about that money I took from you last week with that full house?" He jogged his friend's memory and Steve shook his head.

"Oh, I'm not talking about cards." He clued him in and Vincent gave him an odd look.

"What are you talking about then?" He asked, starting to get intrigued.

"Women." Matt said without a doubt and the rest of the guys laughed to themselves and looked to Vincent.

Vincent found himself laughing, surely Matt was joking. "Are you serious?" He asked. "He's kidding right?" Vincent went on, looking to the other men at the table.

Every one else remained quiet and Vincent shook his head in disbelief.

"I'm the only one who can still go out and get lucky, the rest of you.." He signaled pointing to them, "have to go home to your wives." He said, chuckling a little bit.

"Except Matt." Charles said and Matt cut him off right then.

"Hey, she hasn't signed the divorce papers yet. Besides, this is not about me. Look.." He said drawing the attention back to Vincent. "We all know you've dated lots of women but..none of them have gone anywhere." He informed Vincent and that made him look up at him.

"Thankfully so." Vincent topped. "Cause I don't wanna get caught up in that whole marriage mess." He said honestly as he stacked his piles of chips.

"Wait, but what if you meet..the one?" Charles asked him and Vincent let out a dry laugh.

"Please." He retorted, glancing at his foolish friend. "Steve.." He said bringing the conversation to his rather quiet guest. "Do you think Bev is..**the one**?" He asked with the included air quotes. "The girl of your dreams?"

"Uhh..."Steve uttered out, "well uh..that's what she keeps telling me." He answered, looking back down to his chips he had left.

Vincent smirked and pointed at Steve to let him rest his case. Not needing to say anything else.

"Okay look, all I'm saying is..it doesn't matter if you meet the one or not, she would never marry you anyway." He said, trying to challenge his friend.

"What makes you say that?" Vincent asked, getting testy.

"Well..your not..marriage material." Charles said softly, trying to say it as nice as possible.

Vincent looked to him as if he was shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"You're the guy girl's date before they get married. You know, the phone guy." Matt teased as he poked at Vincent.

Vincent pressed his lips together and shook his head, "You don't know what you're talking about. That's not true." He simply said. "But I am fun." He added on.

"You got commitment-phobe written all over you buddy. Girls can smell that a mile away." He told Vincent, but he just brushed it off.

"Well maybe I just don't think that kind of forever love is possible." He stressed, getting tired of this discussion.

"Vincent face it, you could never get a girl to commit." He went on and Vincent looked to him dead on.

"That's ridiculous, of course I could." He fought back.

"Really?" Matt asked.

"Yeah." Vincent said firmly, determined to prove his starting-to-be aggravating friend.

Matt slowly smirked and leaned forward. "You wanna bet?" He asked and Vincent gave him a weird look. Matt went on before Vincent said yes or no.

"You get a girl to say yes to your marriage proposal by Christmas...and.." He paused to think of a prize. "and I will give you my corner office." Vincent looked up at him as the words flew from his mouth. He was starting to get wrapped up in this little game, everyone knew Matt had the best offices on the floor while everyone else suffered in the small, caged cubby holes.

"If you lose, then you have to take Charles's cubicle and he takes your office." Charlie then smiled, now hoping Vincent would agree just so he'd have a chance at moving up to an actual office.

"Sweet." Charles's said and Vincent rolled his eyes.

"That's crazy." Vincent said looking down at his money.

"Crazy because you don't think you can do it? I mean you've never ran away from a bet before-"

"No, it's crazy because Christmas is just four weeks away." Vincent stated.

"Hey, Sped Lana said yes just after four weeks." Charles rung in about his wife.

"Charles, she was getting deported." Vincent deadpanned and Charles smiled automatically fell as he remembered and said _oh yeahh._

"Hey man, look it's cool, if you don't think you can win this one..just say so." Matt continued, trying to win this argument.

"I'll do it." Vincent said without another thought. He refused to satisfy Matt's dying wish.

Matt's eyes widened as he watched Vincent drink down his beer. "Beg your pardon?"

Vincent finished his beer and raised his finger, "But..I have to choose the girl." He required, knowing how things would go if Matt went around looking. God knows who he'd find.

Matt laughed to himself and rapidly beat the table, "Done and done my friend. You are on." He said reaching out his right hand.

Vincent grinned and shook his hand. They had a deal. He would try to find a girl to marry in just four weeks. He didn't know how he'd do it, but he'd make sure it happened.

He didn't know yet that Catherine would be the girl he picked...who recently just swore off men and any kind of relationship.

;)

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><p><strong>Mwuhahah AN**

Well, here is the first part of my Christmas story! What do you think so far? This is gonna be SO much fun I swear! The next chapter they will meet, I won't say how or where, just know..it'll be interesting and much more.

I wanted to post this first chapter to get thoughts on it so far before I continued! x) The next update I'll be posting is The Situation (unless you beg for this haha) maybe this upcoming week. I leave Tuesday to go home for the week so that'll be perfect! XD

I'm going to bed now! Night everyone and morning to some! xoxo


	2. Chapter 2: Be Assertive

Hey guys! How was thanksgiving? Mine was great! :) I ate a lot and had good family time! There was no wi-fi at my house tho so I did die a little. I'll just have to buy my own it seems. But thankfully I'm back at my apartment where it rains in wifi! x) I hope you all enjoy this part!

***DISCLAIMER*** This story is inspired by work that is not mines. I don't own BATB or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

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><p>Chapter 2: Be Assertive<p>

_**Catherine **_

Catherine turned onto the familiar road, instantly sighing when she saw his work van in the driveway. He was home. A part of her wished he wasn't, but he usually was working in the garage. She slowed her car down and peaked to see him inside. Her jittery fingers grabbed the tiny box and her purse and hopped out the small car.

She put on a brave smile out of nerves and stepped gradually up the driveway. She had to get this over with.

"Hey!" She practically cheered. Zach's head instantly rose up and he groaned in pain when he hit the lamp that was allowing him to see. He held the top of his head as he looked back at Catherine.

She halted her movements and covered her mouth as she apologized. "Sorry.." She saw he had all his tools out and was working on some part like usual. "Are you busy?" She slowly asked, still not moving an inch as he looked at her with speculation.

He pushed some of his hair back as his eyes still judged her, "Just..getting ready for a job." He said with not half as much enthusiasm as his ex appeared with.

Catherine pressed her lips together as her hands held onto each other behind her back. She stared at him, confused at first when he lifted a white, small pipe in her direction.

"Someone dropped their wedding ring down the drain." He told her with animosity obvious in his speech.

She felt her smile slowly drag away and she freed her hands, letting her stance fall as well.

"Zach..I am so sorry." She began sincerely as she walked her way into the garage. "I know, I shouldn't have let it ever get this far. You, and my family and everyone that went through so much trouble.."

She watched as Zach looked to her and the equipment in his palms, trying his best to be understanding. But everything was probably going in one ear and out the other.

"And your proposal..wow." She presented, giving an awkward smile. "In a stadium in front of fifty thousand people. I mean...how can a girl say no, right?" She tried, giving a blundering smile. Zach looked up to her with his doltish expression.

"You didn't." He deadpanned, reminding her.

She looked up at him and could tell he was hurt inside, but he was doing his best to not show any emotion. She hated what she did to him, but she had to be honest with him.

"Well..I probably should have." She worked out, looking down at her shoes for a moment. She looked to the little red box she was holding onto and handed it his way.

"Here." She offered him the engagement ring back.

He looked at it once before shaking his head, "Keep it." He resulted in which made her give a mystified look.

"No, Zach. I can't-"

"Just..hang on to it." He said grabbing onto her hand and lowering it back down. He put on a slight smile as he looked back to her.

"You don't have to wear it if it freaks you out too much. Just..keep it." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

Catherine still wanted to revoke his wish, for she knew what he still assumed. He still thought they had a chance.

"You never know..maybe over a little time you might change your mind." He said, rather optimistic.

Catherine had to bite her tongue before speaking.

"Zach.." She said, looking at him uneasy, trying not to hurt his feelings. "I'm pretty sure..we're not meant to be together." She revealed and he still shook his head.

"Well you can't be that sure. You almost made it down the isle." He found himself snickering, remembering how she darted for the door in almost a comical way. "Well you did, you just didn't stop is all." He pointed out and she closed her eyes, replaying it all too well.

"Yeah.." She dragged out, not having anything else to say.

"Well listen, my company just got a contract for the city. You know what that means? All the doors opening, the security, more contracts, eventually health a plan.." He went on naming the pros out of the deal.

"We start everything next week." He enlightened, putting on a wider grin.

"Wow, that's really great." Catherine said, forming a smile herself. "I'm happy for you." She said honestly.

Zach rubbed the side of his face, giving her a dumbfounded look. "For me? We're a team Cat! Both of our businesses are taking off. I know you may not see it now, but you and me fit. We are meant to be." He said, too enthusiastic and Catherine's expression soon fell.

She couldn't understand why he couldn't just accept that she just didn't feel the same way. She didn't love him the way he loved her. She did her best to fake a laugh and she soon told him she had to leave.

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><p><em><strong>Vincent <strong>_

Vincent leaned back in his office chair and laughed through the line as his boss cracked a joke. He had just made another big trade for the company and that meant more money coming in. Vincent was one of the best advisers with the firm and his boss was usually always pleased with his advice and decisions.

"What can I say? I'm a natural." He kidded through the line and chuckled at his boss's response.

"It's what I do, I make you money." He said, enlarging his ego. He looked up when he saw Matt walk up and lean against his door. He was pestering around as usual.

"Hey, we'll talk about that dividend fund next week. Alright, see you then." He sighed happily. The only person who could ruin his mood right now was Matt.

"Nice view.." Matt joked as he formed a smirk. Vincent looked up at him with an somewhat unhinged expression.

"You know they got these things called windows in my office." He teased and Vincent gave him a solid look.

"I'm gonna have those in four weeks." He said reassuring Matt as he folded his arms, "I'm looking forward to it."

Matt laughed to himself briefly before stepping inside the office, "So..any luck finding your girl yet?"

Vincent sucked his teeth and shook his head, "No, not yet." Which was understandable since they had just made the bet last night.

Matt nodded his head and stopped when one of the women in the office walked by. He gave a wicked smile and signaled Vincent to look.

"What about uh..Veronica." He said, breaking her name down with appeal.

Vincent leaned forward and frowned when he saw the girl. He tapped his fingers against the desk as he leaned back till she was out of sight.

"What-The vegan?" Vincent asked his ridiculous friend. The girl looked dull with her straight brown hair and bulgy glasses. She was way too skinny and Vincent didn't find her the least bit interesting.

"She eats seeds for lunch, where would I even take her for dinner?" He questioned and Matt tilted his head as well.

"Fair enough." He ended up agreeing she wasn't to be even considered. "Well you meet someone tonight at the buloo exhibit."

Vincent laughed to himself as Matt tried to pronounce the word. "It's _Beaulieu_ And it's very auspicious."

Matt looked at him for a few seconds, he didn't even try to determine what Vincent just said to him as he shook word off.

"Well listen, there's always lots of girls at these art events. So just bring your A game buddy." He advised Vincent, forever challenging him.

Vincent brushed him off as he looked down at his phone, "I always do." He stated and Matt smiled as he backed out the room.

"See you tonight." Matt said, knowing his door to signal he was heading out.

"See you tonight." Vincent shot back at him as he went back to work.

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><p><em><strong>Later On, The Beaulieu Event <strong>_

Catherine and Heather had decided to go to the New Modernism Beaulieu Event. They did this from time to time to accumulate more customers and clients. Catherine wore a rich lavender dress with gorgeous pattern fitted on the side. It clinched at her waist and stopped just below her knees. Half of her hair was pulled back and in a pony-tail as the rest of her hair fell in loose curls. Heather sported an all black party dress with a V-neck line and gold accessories. They both looked fabulous and Catherine was telling her sister about her recent visit to Zach's house earlier.

"You kept the ring?!" Heather blared at her sister as they walked their way down the long stairs.

"He wouldn't take it back!" Catherine confessed and Heather sighed to herself. "And...I've hurt him enough already." She said, still feeling bad about the way she handled things.

"Cat, you have got to stop saying yes to these guys so you won't hurt their feelings cause guess what? You're gonna hurt them anyways." She said and Catherine slumped because her sister was right.

"You know me, I hate confrontation." Catherine notified and Heather stopped her from walking.

"Look, if a guy asks you to marry him on a hundred foot jumbo tron..than that's his fault. That's the risk he's willing to take at public humiliation."

Catherine watched her sister as she started walking again. She trailed behind her and let her words soak in.

"Your right." She settled.

"You gotta learn how to be more assertive. You know.." Heather threw her hand out, looking for the right word. "You have to just say no." She told her.

"No." Catherine said and Heather smiled to herself.

"That was good." She kidded and Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Thanks." She said full of sarcasm. They had made it on the art floor and Catherine saw a painting that caught her eye. She pulled away from her sister to get a better look at it.

"So your gonna give the ring back?" Heather checked in again.

"No." Catherine yelled, practicing the word even more, not even realizing what she was saying.

"What?" Heather asked, catching up with her.

"I mean yes! Next week!" She promised.

After a little time of looking at the different painting, Catherine was starting to get bored. The paintings didn't hold very much meaning, at least not to her. She wasn't even a fan of Beaulieu. But they had to go to places they didn't care for sometimes.

"Remind me again why we're here?" Catherine nudged her sister, who took look unintrigued.

"To get new clients." Said Heather quickly, seeing no other reason.

"Why? We're doing just fine." She urged. She smiled to the waitress as a thank you as she grabbed one of the elegant snacks off the tray.

"Buying glasses and looking at paint colors for friends and family members is not fine." Catherine snickered as she ate on the strawberry.

"I want to run a successful interior design company." Heather spoke with such passion as she looked at all the classy people. "Look around sis, this is San Francisco. The pool of possible clients is _huge_. And the best way to land them..is to mingle." She nudged Catherine, since she was the one who usually got all the guys.

"You go schmooze! I'll get us some drinks." She said pushing Catherine along and walked away to find the champagne table.

* * *

><p><strong>~Meanwhile~<strong>

Matt hadn't seen Vincent yet, so he was just lurking around for fun. Hoping he could get lucky himself tonight and find a girl, since he wasn't there for the paintings. He searched and searched, most of the women were married or way out of his league. He stopped walking when he saw two women conversing with each other and the one in the purple dress caught his eye. He pulled himself together and stood tall as he prepared himself to go over and talk to her. He watched as the girl in black left the woman's side and he took that as his chance to walk over.

Catherine stared up at the blotchy money green painting and even debated with herself what the meaning of it could be. It honestly looked like someone just picked up a paint brush and went crazy on the board.

She felt the presence of someone behind her and she assumed it was Heather. But she soon realized it wasn't when the guy spoke in a much deeper voice.

"Brilliant." He said, looking at the picture. Catherine stood still for moment before lifting her eyes to see the guy. He was tall and scruffy and maybe in his late 30's. She didn't really give him two looks as she looked back to the supposed work of art.

"Brilliant." She repeated, almost as to question his choice of words. They went silent for a few moments and Catherine wished he'd just walk away or at least back up. But no, he continued their awkward conversation.

"Do you know the artist?" He decided to ask her. Catherine pretended to say a name but ended up shaking her head.

"Can't say that I do." She revealed.

"He's actually a client at the trading firm I work for, I could introduce you." He said, as if it was impressive and she just said _Ohh_.

"I guess that's weird, I should introduce myself first. I'm Matt." He gleamed, holding his hand out for her to shake. "Matt Harper." He filled out.

She bit her lip a little unsure, and after a few seconds she gave in and shook his hand. "Catherine." She returned uninterested.

"Nice, did you um..come here with anyone?" He asked, looking away from her to act nonchalant.

"I came here with my sister." She made known and he looked to her in surprise.

"Family girl." He laughed a little after he said it. "Like that. Well if it's alright with your sister I would like to show you around. I'm actually very familiar with Ba lo lo's work." He failed again to say the name and Catherine squinted her eyes to herself.

"I thought it was Bleaue?" She said, looking up at him.

"Sorry!" Heather said budding in, shoving herself right between them. "Damaged goods. She's just getting over a broken engagement." She informed Matt, interfering with their conversation as she handed Catherine her glass.

Matt actually nodded his head approving, "Awesome, I'm going through a divorce so we can swap stories-

"She's sworn off men, dating, marriage, pretty much the whole thing." She brought to light and Catherine just sipped her champagne, fighting off a laugh.

"Really?" He asked, a tiny bit aggravated that her sister was getting in the way. "Okay well I don't want to mess with damaged goods. Unless of course your sister would-

"Is gay." Heather stopped him, giving him a slight smirk at his reaction.

"Okay well, I'm just gonna um.." He tried to say, scratching the back of his head. "I think there's some dessert close by so I'll just, yeah." He said eventually walking away. He wasn't believing his luck tonight.

Catherine bumped Heather with her hip as she started to giggle.

"And that's how it's done." Heather proved, giving her sister lessons. "Now do you think you can manage on your own for a bit?" She asked her as if she were an inexperienced child.

"Yeah, of course! I'll be fine." She said trying to convince her sister, and mainly herself.

Heather pulled away and halted her movements before leaving her completely, "Remember what I said, be assertive." She taught.

"Assertive." Catherine did in a deeper voice as she clanked her glass against Heather's. Heather shook her head at her sister's joking mood before she walked away to mingle herself.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Vincent<strong>_

He had gotten there about fifteen minutes ago. He was standing idly by, watching people come and go. He eyed some of the art for a few minutes till he just gave up. He would never understand Beaulieu no matter how hard his brain worked.

He leaned up when he saw Matt walking in his direction.

"So..any luck?" Matt asked before forcing down a cup of liquor they were parading around. He needed something strong.

"Well Beaulieu told me to study this painting to seek creative enlightenment when acquiring for stocks." He said, giving his final conclusion of what he got from the work. But mostly, he was just fooling around.

"Actually...I was talking about the girl." He spoke to fill him in and Vincent nodded his head.

"Yeah I know what you were talking about." He breathed out after inhaling a deep breath.

"Good, cause I have found the one." Matt said, surely certain and that made Vincent give him a odd look.

"I thought the deal was that I chose?" He prompted, turning to face his friend. He didn't know what Matt was up to.

"Hey, can't a guy help a friend out? Besides, she is super cute, alright? And recently single?" He pointed out as well.

"I don't need you trying to set me up with some psycho killer you found on the internet. Is this some kind of joke? " He questioned.

"You tell me." He said, pointing to Catherine who was not too far away.

Vincent turned his head, not expecting to see anyone worth his time, but he had to be honest. She was the only piece of artwork worth a second thought. She had long dark hair and alluring eyes that could cast any spell. Her dress hugged every inch of her and her legs were toned in her high heels. He didn't only admire her shape, but everything about her. He felt himself swallow down the lump in his throat as he watched her stare at a statue. He urged himself to pull himself together, he was getting worked up for nothing.

"She is..super cute." He ended up saying, never lifting his eyes. He knew if he said anything else, it'd reveal too much to his current obsessive state.

"Yup." Matt agreed, smirking to himself at Vincent's longing gaze.

"I wonder what's wrong with her." Vincent joked, still not sure if Matt was just "helping him out."

"Nothing." Matt said expeditiously. "You know, other than she turned me down." He snuck in and Vincent looked to him before chuckling.

"She turned you down." He said, not really asking as he fought on his need to mock.

"She turned me down." Matt settled with, deciding not to be sour about it. He'd just let Vincent deal with her newly found rules.

Vincent nodded his head and looked back to the wondering Catherine, "I like her already." He said, setting his glass down on the white high counter.

"I can see that." Matt mumbled to himself and drunk the rest of his drink he was nursing.

Vincent thought to himself for a few seconds, like he was considering rather she was the right girl or not. He had already made his decision, but he didn't want to seem too eager. He gave it some more 'deliberation' before nodding his head and looking back to Zach.

"Alright...yeah" Vincent proceeded and Matt furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah, that's the one?" He asked, laughing on the inside. His friend didn't know what he was signing up for.

"That's the one." Vincent said firmly, not a doubt in his mind.

"Let's do this." Matt encouraged, as he shook Vincent's hand to confirm the bet.

"Your on buddy." Vincent warned him as he went to leave.

"Good luck." Matt said to him, he was surely gonna need it.

Vincent smirked at him, giving Matt a knowing look, "I don't need luck." He finalized before walking away.

Matt just shook his head and prepared to watch the show. This would surely be an entertaining 4 weeks. That's if Vincent even made it that far.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Catherine<strong>_

Catherine took a seat on the little rectangle couch, closing her eyes as she was able to rest her legs. She trailed her hand down her calf to soothe her lower legs, these shoes were killing her.

"I hate wearing heels at these things." Vincent said, standing right near the couch.

Catherine stopped when she heard the voice. It was thick and raspy and the instant she heard it, she wanted to see who the owner was to that gift from above.

"I'm sorry?" She said before letting her eyes reach Vincent. She cleared her throat as he slowly smiled at her. She wasn't expecting him to be as handsome as he was. He was in an all-black suit and he was quite tall. She couldn't lie, his smile made her feel things. And his eyes saw right through her, she felt so bare and yet she couldn't rest her eyes to leave his.

"It's just the walk from the car..it kills my calves." He said, pretending to be serious and Catherine looked down and over his attire again before shrugging.

"I bet you'd look great in stiletto's." She quipped, and he gave her a impish smile before she took over one herself.

"Vincent Keller." He said reaching out his hand and she fought off her smile as she reached out her hand and grabbed his.

"Catherine Chandler." She briefed and watched him as he walked over to sit beside her.

"So Catherine are you..in the market for some new art?" He asked just to strike a starting conversation.

"I um..I actually just came here with my sister." She said looking forward at the painting as he reminded her why she was partially there. She played with her hands in her lap as she did her best to not look at him. She needed to be strong.

Vincent nodded his head slowly and smiled at her battling state before he too look forward. "So I take it you're not a fan of Beaulieu?" He asked and sipped on his second glass of champagne.

Catherine made an uncomfortable place. She hated she didn't know anything about this artist, she looked like a fish out of water right now.

"He's um..very..." She dragged on, struggling to say or pick any word she could possibly use.

Vincent looked to her and chuckled at her clueless expression. It was amusing to him and he found it to be cute. He leaned forward to her.

"Say no more." He whispered and she ended up smiling, "I don't get him either." He said honestly.

Catherine caught herself looking down at his lips before pulling her eyes away. She said _mhmm_ in a laid back manner. Trying her best to seem apathetic.

"So your sister, is she a collector?" He asked, scooting a bit closer to her and she probably didn't notice it. He took the time to admire her perfect features up close as he began to tell him about their business.

"We're interior designers." Catherine said giving him a quick glance, placing her leg over her knee.

"Really? Interesting." He said, looking at her intently as she kept her own gaze in check. She wished he'd stop staring at her. It made 'being assertive' seem irrational and impossible at this moment.

"HC designs." She said proudly and Vincent looked confused for a moment.

"HC?" He asked, not sure what it meant.

"Heather and Catherine Designs..it's..cheesy I know-

"No, no, it's actually not. I get it." He retorted and she nodded her head. She was now regretting her choice of defending guys by herself, she wished her sister would swoop in and drag her away. And at the same time, she wanted this Vincent guy to drag her away. She was hoping her awkwardness would be her repellant but he seemed to really be intrigued.

"Hey, you wanna grab a coffee?" Vincent decided to simply ask and Catherine looked up abruptly at him. She pressed her lips into a thin line as she caught Vincent lick his own. It was an action she'd pay to see on repeat.

Vincent watched her, waiting on an answer and before Catherine knew it herself, that one word she barely used slipped out of her mouth.

"No." She said simply and that actually caught Vincent off-guard.

Vincent gave her a strange look, at her response and actually to her own surprise. "Oh..well can I get a card? Because I'm looking to redecorate my condo-

"No." Catherine said again as she was starting to realize how easy it was to say.

"I thought we could maybe go over some ideas-"

"No." Catherine said again, this time with meaning.

"No?" Vincent asked her as he leaned back. He honestly wasn't used to rejection, this girl was gonna be tougher than he thought.

"Yes!" Perked Heather as she walked up. That made the both of them look up at her.

"Huh?" Catherine said, clueless to what her sister was talking about.

"Catherine would be thrilled to give you a consultation." Heather said with a big smile has she took their business card out her small clutch. She chose to ignore a bewildered Catherine that said _what_.

Vincent stood up with Catherine and smiled as he received the card from the woman he assumed was Heather.

"Great." He said with a warm grin. "Saturday, ten thirty?" He asked, this time looking at Catherine and she felt herself falter as she locked eyes with him yet again.

She was about to deny his request, but her sister's voice overpowered hers. "Saturday is perfect!" She said with her spirited mood. Catherine gave her a crazy look and Vincent just smirked to himself.

"Heather, I assume?" He asked and she nodded.

"That's right." Heather concluded and he gently smiled.

"Vincent. It's a pleasure." He introduced himself and looked to Catherine who looked like she wanted to dive into a rabbit hole.

"I'm gonna email you my address." He spoke to her directly and she returned a simple nod as her answer and he let them be as he left their presence.

Heather clapped her small hands together and did a little happy dance.

Catherine grabbed onto her sister side and calmed her down, "Assertive, huh?" She asked and Heather brushed her off.

"Nice work!" Heather complimented her on getting them a new potential client.

Catherine sighed to herself and just decided to not say anything to her sister now. She thought she was talking with him to talk him into being a customer, but that wasn't the case. He was totally into her and the one time she tried to be 'assertive' like her sister said, it didn't even matter or work. She would have to go to Vincent's place this weekend and she honestly didn't know how she'd make it. She didn't know anything about this guy but she knew he was charming and she didn't trust herself around him. Being assertive was surely going to go down the drain.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Sooo? Hehe xD I hope you all loved it! PLEASE let me know what you thought of this part! BTW This is inspired by another movie I saw, but it'll have my own twist on it in a couple chapters. ;) Of course VinCat brings the heat. **

**Love you all! Xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3: Personalize

Helloooo everyone! How is everyone? Well I hope the answers are good! :) Please enjoy this chapter loves! Any errors were not intended even though they are sometimes frequent.

***DISCLAIMER*** This story is inspired by work that is not mines. I don't own BATB or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Personalize<p>

**Saturday Morning**

_**Catherine**_

She had just gotten home from getting new fabrics and pieces from the store. She eyed her younger sister as she searched on her laptop in their "office". She plopped the notes on the desk, making Heather jump as she grabbed her chest. Catherine gave her a pesky glare as she walked around the cluttered table, stopping in front of her.

"I thought you said be more assertive?" She told her sister, bringing it up again.

"He's a potential client." Heather reminded her, throwing her arms out at her sister's confusion.

Catherine stopped looking over the pictures and rested her hand on the page at her sister's words, "Heath, how can you not see that was just a line? He doesn't really wanna redecorate." She enlightened her and Heather shrugged her shoulders and pulled out more choices.

"Maybe. But today, you're gonna give convince him that he does need to redecorate so we can get out of the red and I can get my own place." She stressed, pointing to herself. Catherine squinted at her and Heather eased up and said "No offense." before cracking a ridiculous smile.

Catherine looked to see what time it was and slumped her shoulders even more. It had just turned ten o'clock. She had to be at his place in thirty minutes. She wanted to cancel, she'd been dreading it all day. She was hoping and praying that he'd realize that he didn't want to go through with the meeting and everything else. She'd just have to see and get it over with.

"Fine." Catherine mumbled as she grabbed her tote babe and purse. "I'm going." She dragged out and Heather gave her a big smile as she lifted her feet off the ground.

"That's the spirit!" She said peppy and Catherine groaned as she pulled her way to and out their front door. Heather smiled to herself and went back to her online adventures.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Vincent's Place – A little after 10:30<strong>_

He had made his apartment as neat as possible, even though he didn't have to much to even label it unfit. He wanted everything to be at least decent, and he even prepared some snacks and drinks if she wanted anything. He berated himself for trying so hard because he usually didn't have to. But something told him Catherine wasn't just gonna leap into his arms like the other desperate women. She had already said no to him three times. He had to redeem himself.

He checked the clock again, it was now ten forty-five. His mind kept rattling the idea that she had canceled. But he knew she wouldn't do that, at least not without contacting him. Plus, he was just being unusually nervous, it had only been ten minutes after. He just needed to relax. Just then, he heard the ding and the doors to his elevator open.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Catherine<strong>_

_An elevator. _

_His condo had its own personal elevator._ She thought.

_Holy shit._

The building and lobby itself was so lavish, she just knew his apartment was not a disappointment. She clutched her fist after pressing the second button to get to his floor. She found her breaths labored and closed her eyes for a few seconds to calm her jitters.

The sound above chimed and the doors spread open and so did her eyes. She looked ahead and around before stepping out. The kitchen was the first thing her eyes greeted.

"Hellooo?" She elongated as she snuck in like a scared animal.

Vincent's head shot up as he saw her peak around the corner. He slowly grinned to himself and walked her way.

"Catherine." He said with self-fulfilling pleasure. She turned around and slowly smiled as he made himself present.

"Hiii." She expressed as she still looked around his spacious crib.

"Hey." He replied back in his relaxing voice. He purposely stopped right in front of her. He smiled widely at her and she shook her head and gestured towards the closing doors she just walked out of.

"Wow, elevator in the place huh?"

"Yeahh." He said, waving his hand implying that it was nothing, "It's neat I guess." She gave him a weird look, knowing it was more than neat. He laughed a little and turned around, hoping she would follow him.

"Welcome." He almost announced as his hands clapped the air. Catherine gradually kept up with him, still making sure she really examined the place. The kitchen island was gorgeous, but clear. There laid a netted basket with nothing displayed in it. Further ahead was the living room and the supposed dining room that held other furniture. She didn't need him to take her to the back, she knew it held his bedroom.

"So..this is it." He said, resting his hands at his sides. "Other than what I see in IKEA catalogs, I really have no idea how to do this." He said cracking a joke with a few hints of how serious he was.

She kept her smile in check as she tracked her way out the kitchen. Vincent watched her as he leaned against the wall.

"Do you want a drink?" He suddenly asked and she looked up at him. "Do you want coffee, tea, water-

"Oh, no! I'm good. Thank you." She returned, quickly moving pass him to the counter. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to as he turned around to see where she was going.

She looked to a painting sitting against the wall as she placed all her bags on the counter. She found herself smirking as she saw the design of the work.

"Ohhh, I thought you said you weren't a fan of Beaulieu's work?" She said, he lips playing a grin as she pulled off her warm coat and scarf.

Vincent looked to the painting she was referring to. It was the one he never hung, because honestly he didn't care for it.

"Ohh, yeah..no that was gift. He's a client of mines and he was pleased with my creative abilities." He revealed and Catherine walked towards it and still felt her brain explode. Nothing made sense about it.

"Huh." She ended up saying and a thought crossed her mind. She looked back over to Vincent and lowered her eyes.

"And what is it that you do again?" She dug, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Oh, I'm a professional killer." He said with casualty as he leaned against the table now.

Catherine's face quickly fell, "What?" She asked as her eyes bugged out. Vincent looked at her too, serious for a moment until he gave into his wicked smile.

"That was a joke." He kidded and she felt herself find relief and ended up rolling her eyes.

"Ha ha." She said and he chuckled to himself.

"But no seriously, I'm in personal asset management. A financial adviser." He finally made clear and she nodded her head as she continued to look around.

"And you work with Matt Harper was it?" She remembered him saying Beaulieu was his client as well.

Vincent grinned to himself and nodded his head, "I guess you can say that."

Catherine raised her eyebrows as she looked at him plain and skinny lamp. "Okay, so what? You guys have some sort of bet going on?" She smiled, joking as she flashed him a quick glance.

Vincent's amusement fell away at her words. He watched her back as she fiddled with his choice of curtains. He cleared his throat but rapidly binded his thoughts.

"Excuse me?" He asked, pretending to be clueless.

"Well..you did both ask me out." She clued him in, giving him a diverted look.

Vincent slowly smiled at her as he folded his arms. "Is that what I was doing?" He asked baffled and Catherine quickly gave him a knowing look. "Because it didn't work. Unless you wanna call this a date." He teased and she quickly changed the subject.

"So what do you think?" She asked him, stepping back into the living room. She noticed his eyes scanning over her and she felt completely naked from his dissection. His eyes finally made it to her face.

"About what?" He asked, still giving his natural grin.

She smiled conspicuous and pulled his attention back to their surroundings, "About redecorating." She prompted him and he stared at her, almost longing before pushing himself off the counter. He began walking her way to the center of the room.

"Yeah...well this is pretty much how the place was when I moved in. I brought the chair, the tv, the bed and the poker table." He made known, pointing at each object.

She couldn't escape the laugh that fell from her lips at the small stitched pillow he had resting on his short, black couch. She raised the pillow up, bringing it into question. It definitely didn't belong, but it was cute. And possibly something a girl made for him.

"My mom made this for me." Vincent informed her as he gently grabbed the item from her hands and she nodded her head in understanding.

"She sent it from Florida." He continued and she smiled at him as he stared down at it.

"That's very sweet." She resulted in and she moved further away from him. "So, your from Florida then?" They weren't even on a date, but she kept getting that feeling. She was prying into his personal life like you would on one. But she just convinced herself she was just being friendly.

"No, my mom moved there about ten years ago." He spoke softly, placing the pillow back on the couch .

"I grew up in Oakland." He shared as he faced her direction. "I came to San Fran Cisco for school. Four years of Berkeley, NBA, crippling student loans." He pressed out, tying his hands together.

In the area for the dining room, there was almost an open floor and an all black punching bag hanging from the center.

Catherine's hand ran over the object before she gave it three, playful punches. She looked back at him with a cute smile ready, "You box?" She asked, finding her eyes feed at his arms. That explained his built.

He let out a deep chuckle before nodding his head, "As a matter of fact I do. It's mainly a hobby, I like the exercise." He revealed, leaving his current mark.

She released an intrigued sound, probably too quiet for his ears. She looks at the last light hanging from the ceiling and rested her feet back on the ground, off her toes.

"Well..one thing you should know about me is I design based on the individual and comfort of course." She prepared him as he continued to walk back over to her. It almost felt like they were dancing around the room. She was running and he was chasing.

"So, your place is really great. It's just not really that functional." She spoke to him as he rested his forearms on the counter she was standing behind.

"And how do we get it functioning?" He asked and she looked to him before reaching for her bag.

"Well the first thing we're gonna do is personalize your space." She said, giving him a ribbing smile as she placed all the material on the table.

Vincent didn't look down once at anything she wanted to show him, she had to realize that she was his only focus in this moment.

"Does that mean you need to get to know me better?" He started with a slowly merging smile. "Cause we can go for a glass of wine and I'll tell you everything you need to know." He obliged and she fought her attention back down to her chart she had with her.

"Color?" She deadpanned, choosing not to pay him any mind.

Vincent frowned and gave her an odd look, "What?"

She sighed and held up the color schemes she had, "Do you prefer a blue tone? A red? A neutral?" She provided options, letting her attention fall to her other designs she had to keep from looking at him.

Vincent followed her gave to the papers before looking back up to her, he didn't get her. Why was she fighting so hard?

"Uh..blue is good." He decided, not really giving it much thought.

She smiled professionally and reached to pull those choices out, "Okay, great! So I just need you to look at these fabrics-"

The instantly she pulled them out, something else flew out as well and hit the ground a few feet away. Her mouth fell open as she gasped when she saw what it was. Vincent looked to where he eyes went and there laid a little red box. It was cracked open with her ring sitting inside of it. He walked over and so did she to beat him to it, but she was too late. He slowly leaned down and turned it over just as she got on the ground in front of him.

He stared down at the shinning diamond before looking up at her. He felt a lump form in his throat and from her face, she looked fearful as well and a bit embarrassed.

He lifted himself to his feet and she was right behind him and he started to shake his head.

"I'm so sorry..I didn't know that you were married." He said truthfully, handing the ring over to her.

She let out a laugh to cover her nerves as she grabbed the box from his grips. "I'm not." She said quickly.

"Engaged." Vincent said next.

"I wasn't." She returned hurriedly and he then gave her a strange look.

"Or whatever.." He ended up saying and she sighed.

"I never was-well..I'm..I'm giving it back." She said, giving a sheepish smile.

Vincent felt the awkwardness definitely fill the room and the stiffness as well on his part. She had just broken off an engagement, what were the odds? There was no way she'd come close to accepting his proposal.

"So, I'll let you keep this and if you just wanna go through the colors and fabrics and let me know, we can get a nice color scheme going.." She tried and Vincent just stared at her, not sure he should reply or remain silent. She was desperately trying to dissolve what just happened.

Catherine rushed to gather all of her things as she threw her coat and scarf back on and grabbed her bags.

"And then, you can email me.." She almost stuttered out and Vincent coughed just to make it easier.

"Yeah, I'll email you." He returned, and she quit her chattering. But she still raced to get to the elevator.

"We'll go from there!" She told him and she pressed the button and she said a silent prayer as they doors opened for her.

"Right, I'll..I'll talk to you soon." He said and watched her step inside the elevator as she replied with a _Great!_

Catherine's facade fell as soon as she stepped out of his sight. She had forgotten that stupid thing was still in her purse. What the hell just happened and why did she feel so weird about him now knowing. She knew this was probably for the best, he'd most likely back off of her from now on. And that's what she wanted...she just couldn't fight off this weird feeling.

Vincent waited till the doors shut as he asked himself _What?!_ How the hell was this possible? The first girl he picked to possibly propose to had just unproposed somebody, if that was a thing. No freaking way.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later<strong>_

Catherine sat on the arm of her mother's couch, just finishing the Christmas decorations. Heather would have helped but she claimed she was too full to lift a finger, so Catherine happily did it by herself.

Her mother waltzed out of the kitchen with another tray in her hand.

"Just pulled this last batch out of the oven!" Their mother cheered, surely in the holiday mood. She sat the cookies on the table in front of Heather who was 'taste testing' them all.

Catherine smiled to her mom as she brushed her hands off her jeans. She signaled her hands to the decorations above the fireplace.

"Tada.." Catherine presented and Vanessa eyed the twinkling lights and red and green little branches and she smiled widely.

"Aww, Catherine it's beautiful!" She almost screeched and grabbed Catherine's face to give her a quick kiss.

Catherine made a face at the gesture, she did that every since they were little girls and still did even though she was pushing thirty. Heather made a face at Catherine to mock and took a bite of her cookie.

"You girls are so talented." She complimented them and turned her head to see Tom walking into the living room.

"Are those short bread cookies that I smell?" He asked, whiffing the sweet air and Vanessa laughed, patting his arm in a dearing way as she made it back to the kitchen.

"Hey Dad." Catherine said with a small smile. She had seen her dad since the wedding, but they really didn't talk much about what happened. Tom was still in a cheerful mood though. He knew when she was ready to talk, she'd come to him.

"Hey sweetheart!" He said with a wide grin as he sat down. "Oh, you just missed Zach!" He said and her face took over a new expression.

"What?" She asked confused. "He was here?"

"Yeah, I asked him to come over and look at the kitchen pipes." Vanessa joined in, bringing more snacks into the living room. "You know how the water pressure is low sometimes." She said it in a nonchalant manner.

"Um..yeah. Like for the pass twenty years. It's suddenly an issue?" She shot out, knowing her mom had other reasons for inviting him over.

Vanessa gave a diffident smile at her daughter as she sat on the arm of Tom's chair. She suddenly exhaled and gave in, "He asked about you. Told us that you kept the ring."

"I'm giving it back!" She said expeditiously and Heather said _Mm._ Catherine looked to her, giving her a biting look as she squinted her eyes.

"Next week!" She repeated.

"Well honey..maybe don't be so hasty. Zach is a great catch and handsome too." Catherine her a pointed look.

"Vanessa, I think Catherine knows what she wants."

"Oh no she doesn't." Vanessa returned and Catherine looked to her in shock.

"Mom!" She shouted and Vanessa gave her a look as to say _**what?! **_She placed her hand on her hip as she looked down to Tom.

"We got cold feet when we were getting married! Didn't we Tom?" She stressed and he thought to himself for a few seconds.

"Actually..I was okay." He said, taking a bite out of his cookie.

Catherine flopped down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling as her mother tried to explain _"What she was feeling"_ to her. She wanted to just tone her out.

"Getting married is..like diving into a pool of frigid water." She expressed, making the face as if she just did.

"You know it's gonna be a shock, but you just close your eyes and take the punch!" She said, holding a fist.

Catherine gave her an odd look as she heard Heather snickering on the floor. She just nodded her head and said "Uh huh." Her mom was crazy if she thought she would ever reconsider marrying Zach.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Vincent – Next Day<strong>_

Vincent sighed to himself, he was still thinking about Catherine and what happened. He filled his coffee mug with water from the water jug on the floor as Matt stood beside him.

"Man it's impossible." He said shaking his head and taking a sip of water. "I'm never gonna get this girl to say yes. She said so herself, she's sworn off marriage for good." He put together and he heard a slight laugh escape Matt.

He stopped drinking his water and looked to his friend who had quickly put on a knew face.

"What?" Vincent asked and Matt sipped his drink as well and shook his head.

"Nothing." He simply replied.

"No, no...you were just laughing." He pointed out and Matt remained quiet, not able to control his smirk as he drunk his water.

Vincent put two and two together and leaned back, "I don't believe this..you knew?!" He questioned him and Matt let out a slight laugh.

"You knew I had no chance with her." Vincent said, feeling himself get angry actually.

"Hey, it's not my fault you chose her before you did your own girl." Matt justified, but Vincent still wasn't settling.

"That's not fair." He pitched out and Matt furrowed his eyebrows.

"Oh and pulling a full house on the river is fair?" He brought up his recent doings.

"No, you set me up!" Vincent proclaimed.

Matt laughed to himself as he watched Charles and Steve interact in the distance. "I mean you could just admit defeat, I'm sure we can have you moved into Charles cubicle by like the end of the day pal." He reasoned, gesturing to the sad display ahead.

Vincent looked back when he heard Charles say _Stop_ to Steve. Charles was leaning over the wall between their cramped desk and telling Steve to stop throwing paper balls on his side. Steve laughed at Charles reaction to throwing an eraser in his face as he spoke.

Vincent almost sulked at the sight and Matt smiled to himself and shook his head.

"It's fun over there." He breathed, full of sarcasm.

"Forget it." Vincent said, refusing to give up and jump down to that. "I'll make this happen." He said to himself. He'd do whatever it took to make this proposal work. Matt grinned to himself as Vincent walked away.

"Alright, good luck!" He sung and walked his way to his office as well.

* * *

><p><strong>AN **

**Booyah! Hehe Getting this out because I won't have time till the weekend or realistically after Monday. Finals . So yeah, what do you think? What will VinCat do next? Someone will be getting jealous next chapter. And More fun stuff! XD Please review!** **And yes, I've been planning The Situation. Took a minute to get back on track, but it's slowly coming together! Be patient please lol. XP **


	4. Chapter 4: Three Is Not A Charm

Hello everyone! Sorry I'm late! I've had the worst cramps and I had to go to the doctor recently. I go do lab work tomorrow because my medication isn't working. Don't worry, I'm not dying or anything lol I'll be fine! So Christmas is coming soon! And my birthday on the 21st! I turn 19 o.o Getting old haha Love you all! Please enjoy and sorry for any errors!

***DISCLAIMER*** This story is inspired by work that is not mines. I don't own BATB or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Three Is Not A Charm<p>

_**Catherine**_

_**Later On**_

It was a little later on in the afternoon and she was throwing papers around, looking for the rest of the pictures she had put together for Vincent's apartment. To be honest, she was frustrated. With herself and her feelings. The lost items weren't the only things out of place. She had to admit, it was harder than she thought to just be single. She never had any problems in the men department, but she knew she couldn't keep leading the wrong guys on. The one time she decided to be strong and be faithful to herself, Vincent came along. She'd never say it out loud, but he was handsome, very handsome and somewhat charming. And she'd have to be living under a rock to not notice how persistent he was. He hadn't contacted her since their awkward meeting at his place and she thought maybe that was a good thing. Even though she never expected him to still be interested in "redecorating".

She slung another useless file behind her and it landed on their desk Heather was currently working at.

Heather huffed to herself and looked away from the computer desktop to look up at her erratic sister. She decided to stop what she was doing to see what the hell she was all panicky about. She pushed the folder to the side that had landed on the keyboard.

"Any word from Vincent?" She went on to strike up a conversation. She watched her sister tense a little at the name and she began to shake her head.

"Nope." Catherine returned shortly. She reached over the cluttered table and saw the board she put together laying on their couch. She retrieved that at least and placed it back on the stand and stared at it to continuously judge it.

"I told you." Catherine told her sister as she glanced at her. She knew at the end of the day, Vincent wasn't serious or cared enough about anything dealing with decor in his place. "What a waste of time." She concluded, a thought of burning the board came to mind but of course, she refrained.

Heather leaned back in the black chair and sighed to herself, "I guess we'll be renting this place for another year." She said and caught herself looking back at the sound of a loud knock on their front door.

Catherine turned towards the noise as well. She looked to Heather who shrugged and Catherine went to get the door since she was already standing up and she knew Heather wasn't gonna bother.

"Coming!" She told the person as she did her best to rush to get the door.

Catherine twisted the door knob and pulled the door back. She felt her eyes enlarge in astonishment as she saw him standing at her front door. She quickly played down her reaction as she saw him feed from it like he usually did as a smirk took over his face.

"Surprise." He said with an unusual amount of pleasure.

"Vincent." She only found herself saying and he smiled at her as he nodded in a confirming kind of way.

"Hey." He voiced to her in a warm tone.

"Hey." She exchanged in a questionable manner, mirroring his small in disbelief as she shook her head. "What are you doing here?" She wondered.

"Well..I thought I'd come talk to you about all of your ideas." He simply said as if it was a no brainer.

Catherine gave him a weird look and found herself lacking a response as she tumbled over her own words.

"Please!" She heard Heather practically shout from behind her. She turned back and gave her sister a what the helllook. Heather chose to ignore her as she looked pass her to Vincent.

"Come in!" She granted Vincent and he returned a thank you to Catherine's sister with a simmering small. Catherine looked back to Vincent who fed her a sated grin as he was finally let in the house. He walked pass her and she almost groaned to herself as she shut the front door.

Vincent laughed a little to himself as he made his way into their home office, which was anything but put together.

"Wow." He said, taking a look around and Heather laughed as well, mostly out of embarrassment. If they knew a client was coming, it most definitely wouldn't look like a tornado just passed through their house.

"This is the whole..work at home office, huh?" He asked smiling, looking to them both.

"Yeah.." Heather said, stacking some of their files together. "Sorry about the mess." She apologized with a cheeky smile.

"No, I like it, it's nice." He complimented anyway as he turned towards Catherine was making her way to the stuff she did find.

"So..Catherine tells me all about her great ideas for decorating your condo." Heather brought up to him as she stood idly beside him.

Vincent nodded his head and looked to the shorter girl's sister. "Yeah. It looks like it from everything she emailed me." He said, looking to Catherine who was biting her bottom lip out of nerves.

"Do you like any of it?" She asked, playing with her own hands.

"I **loved** all of it." He expressed, which made Catherine a bit flustered as he triggered that intense stare of his.

"It's just..it's a little overwhelming. All of the pictures and possibilities..I really think I need to see it." He claimed, throwing his hands in his pockets.

Catherine _'uh huh'_, giving a single nod in understanding. "Right. Well I actually put together this board for you.." She began by pointing to the filled cardboard before picking it up, "if you wanna take a look.." She said, looking up to see him already walking over.

Heather simply snickered to herself as Vincent stood right beside her sister, barely any space until Catherine awkwardly stepped back. She had to admit, it was amusing to watch her sister to be to unaffected.

"I was thinking..you know like this general vibe." She articulated as she ran her hand over the different choices.

"You know.." Vincent breathed, looking down at the different pictures with a sense of difficulty. "it's hard for me to tell if I really love something from a picture." He said to her as her forehead creased in confusion.

"I need to physically touch it." He said content until he slowly broke out into a provoking smile.

She was unable to control her reaction as she caught onto his sensual remark.

"Oh..right" She found herself saying, placing the board back down. "Um..okay, well I'm going to the store later today. So you know what, it's no problem. I can pull some of these pieces and then you know you can..check them out." She said rapidly and Vincent stopped her as she went reaching for her coat.

"Wait, later on today?" He asked her and she slowly nodded.

"Yeah." She said, curious to know why he was asking.

"Great. Cause I have the rest of the afternoon off, I can go with you." He replied, now smiling at her.

"Great!" Heather chimed in, watching them from behind the office. Catherine stopped her urgency as she was pulling on her scarf. She shot her sister a crazy look as she laughed and shook her head.

"No." She flat out said and Heather tilted her head at her sister's reaction. Catherine looked back to Vincent.

"I mean..it's..so time consuming!" She said, tracking down a fake reason. "And I have all of those orders to pick up and-"

"Oh? Then I can help out." He argued, clearly not letting up.

"Perfect!" Heather officiated and Catherine still shook her head, trying to think of another hinder. Just then, their front door opened and they all looked to the front door.

"Hey Catherine!" Zach said as he was shutting the front door closed.

He made his way into the living room where they were and Catherine frowned, not trying at all to hide it.

"Zach. What are you doing here?" She questioned, finally resting her scarf over her beige coat.

"I just..stopped by. I thought I could buy you some lunch." He justified, quickly glancing at the other guy standing beside Catherine.

Vincent looked to Catherine who was now wearing a blundering smile.

"Um..I'd love to but um.." She paused, looking to Vincent who was too waiting to see what she had to say. "it was just that I'm about to take my client here, Vincent, to go furniture shopping." She said gesturing to him with her hand. Vincent gave the guy a feeble smile and a modest wave to greet him.

"You ready to go?" Catherine asked him, putting on a ardent smile and Vincent looked back to her and grinned.

Zach gave him a judgy look. He didn't know who this guy was but he clearly wouldn't become his buddy anytime soon. He didn't like the way Vincent was looking at Catherine.

"Yes, we can go." He said to her before looking back to a jealous Zach. Catherine clutched everything in her arms as she walked ahead pass her sister and Zach, almost running to the front door. Vincent gave Heather a small pat and said _see you _in a friendly way and he stopped in front of Zach and stuck his hand out.

"Nice to meet you." He said with a smile and Zach slowly raised his hand to shake his, but still unsure.

"Yeah, you too." Zach returned dryly before retrieving his hand. He watched as Vincent pulled the door open for Catherine before she could and they were making their way out the door.

"Some other time then?" He managed to catch Catherine as she stopped on the porch and looked back and so did Vincent.

Catherine gave him a small smile and nodded her head. "Yeah, for sure." She said stretching the truth. She just needed to say anything and hurry up and leave.

Vincent closed the door behind them and Zach sighed to himself as he watched them through the side window.

Heather creeped up behind him and looked to him oddly. "I'm free for lunch." She implied that she was hungry and Zach looked to her before laughing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Catherine and Vincent<strong>_

**Spacial Effects: Design**

"Okay now this.." She said with a big smile as they walked to the large couch on display, "is what I was thinking for your living room." She told him as she ran her hand over the material.

"Isn't it fabulous?" She asked and Vincent chuckled to himself as he touched the gray couch as well. His hand ran over the fabric until he met Catherine's stance. He could tell she did love this one from her intrigued behavior and that somehow made him love it just as much. He walked around her as she continued to speak.

"I, myself, love an extra long couch. It gives me plenty of room to lay down, relax..do whatever, you know." She said as she watched Vincent take a seat on her number one pick.

Vincent nodded as a response and sat firmly on the cushion. It was really comfortable and it would dress his living room nicely.

"Great, right?" She insisted, watching him fall in love with it himself.

"Mhmm." Left his lips as he hummed and rubbed his hands together in thought. He looked back up at her as she stood behind the couch. As usual, as far from him as she could be. He placed his right hand on the cushion and patted it lightly.

"Hey, take a seat." He offered her at first and she looked to where his hand was before shaking her head.

"Oh- No, I'm fine. Thank you." She rejected, looking back into the catalog book in the palm of her hand. Vincent rose his hand up, questioning her answer and she looked to his befuddled behavior.

"What?" She found herself asking him.

"Have a seat, how else are you gonna know how it feels?" He said a bit more demanding, not giving her a choice. She eyed him for a second and saw that he was serious and she sighed to herself. She guessed he was right and she realized that one little sit down wouldn't mean she'd all of a sudden jump in his lap. Plus, she was sure by now that he had noticed her ridiculous acts to stay away from him.

She gradually moved her legs around the couch and sat down in the spot he left vacant for her. She closed her book and placed it in her bag that she sat beside her on the couch. She looked to him haltingly, as if to say _what now?_ Vincent didn't look at her but she could tell he was happy he had gotten his way this time as he wore his satisfied grin.

He leaned back even further on the couch till his back rested on the upper cushion. Catherine decided to do the same, she just kept her hands in her own lap.

"Pretend your watching a movie." Vincent suddenly said, which made Catherine raise an eyebrow at him but he was still serious.

"Okayy." She dragged on, looking ahead as if there was something interesting to watch. Vincent interlinked his own hands together in his lap, not realizing that Catherine had done the same.

"Let me guess, we're watching a romance?" He suggested as if it were the obvious as he glanced at her. But from the look on her face, it was anything but what he thought.

"Horror film..actually." She corrected as she looked at him from the "screen".

"Really?" He questioned, actually surprised with her preference.

"Yeah." Catherine returned like it was what girl's normally loved. She began to tell him why she took a liking towards them and he felt himself just stare at her in fascination. He loved the genre just as much and he never expected any girl he came in contact to as well.

"I love that moment when I know I'm about to be so scared. But I still don't know when it's coming and then all of a sudden it's jus-"

"Boo!" Vincent said abruptly as he jumped at Catherine with imaginary claws. He smiled at her frightened reaction and her lips actually turned up after she calmed her nerves. They both looked at each other before they joined in on a laugh and Catherine shook her head.

"I know the feeling exactly." Vincent went on to share, "My parents used to leave me alone a lot when I was younger and I used to watch slasher movies to see how scared I could make myself." He disclosed, glancing up at her.

"Oh yeah?" She asked in a playful mood and he nodded his head. "How old were you?" She decided to dig even deeper.

"Maybe ten or twelve." He revealed, shrugging his shoulder. Catherine's expression slowly left her face as she became quiet.

"And you were alone?" She went on to ask and Vincent looked to her before looking away again. He sat up a little on the couch and cleared his throat.

"Who was that guy you were trying to dodge at the house?" He then changed the subject, deflecting. Catherine nodded her head, seeing they weren't going anywhere further into his personal life. At least not now.

"Not that it matters to me, considering I was the one you were trying to shake before he showed up." He made known and Catherine scoffed to herself, in disagreement.

"Uh- Okay well..I wasn't trying to shake anyone and um..that was Zach. My fiancee." He acknowledged, feeling a bit uncomfortable so she started to rummage through the catalog book again. Vincent watched her as she tried to close herself up again and bury herself back into her work. He turned his body in her direction, which made her look to him for a moment.

"So..I guess he wasn't the one?" He put together and Catherine gave him a spurning look. She couldn't believe he'd just asked her that, it wasn't any of his business. She didn't know why she'd even talked about herself or her life with one of her client's. She'd never would have done it with another client because it was irrelevant and unprofessional.

She just brushed Vincent off, signaling she wanted to be done with the conversation.

"What?" Vincent asked with a bemused look. "What, you don't believe in soul mates?" He dared to ask and she gave him a crazy look.

"Do you?" She asked, turning the tables on him. He looked at her for a few moments until he decided to nod his head.

"Yes. Of course." He said without a doubt, looking directly at her.

"Really?" She asked him, not sure if she believed him or not. If he was being honest, she thought he was naive for thinking that way. She had failed in almost every relationship she took part in, so she had convinced herself that a one true love didn't exist. At least not for her it didn't.

"Well not me." Catherine finally said and before Vincent could say anything, she up and changed the subject like he did just a couple minutes ago. "So, what do you think?" She asked, referring back to the couch they were sitting on.

Vincent took in a deep breath, staring at this stubborn woman he still couldn't quite figure out. She was scared, that was for sure. Of what exactly, he didn't know.

"Ah , the couch." He said with a hint of a smile. He looked down at it and let his palm trace it over. "Um..yeah. It's great." He settled, looking back up at her.

"Great!" She said, bringing back her chipper business woman act. "Then I will go get the sales rep." She said as she grabbed her bag and rose off the couch. "Then we'll sit down and we'll review everything." She told him as she walked away from him. Vincent smirked to himself as he watched her walk off and he knew he'd gotten somewhere with her today, but he'd have to try harder.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later <strong>_

Catherine had mentioned this festive little restaurant down the street and Vincent didn't fight her on it. He was looking forward to actually sitting and having dinner with her. Little did he know, it wasn't at all a date. When she said they'd sit and review everything with the furniture, that's exactly what she meant. It was just like another meet. Catherine's didn't even order anything to eat, even after he offered to pay. She even turned down an actual table and they just sat at the bar and talked.

Catherine told the bartender in her Christmas get up thank you after she sat their glasses of wine in front of them.

"O-kay, we have all the major pieces." Catherine went on as Vincent picked up his glass, "Now we just need accents. Like pillows, lamps, table sets, that sort of thing-

"It's hard to believe that Christmas is just a few weeks away." Vincent interrupted her and she stopped rambling and and simply nodded.

"What do you think of Christmas decor, I mean from a design prospective?" Vincent continued, leaning closer to her in his stool.

Catherine smiled to herself and sighed. She placed her booklet down, there wasn't any point if Vincent would keep bringing up something else.

"Honestly, I think for the most part it's tacky and over the top. But..I don't know, when it's done right it's okay. I really like Christmas time." She said not thinking too much of it. She happened to look down, Vincent was doing that 'thing' again. And by that she meant his infectious smile that made her weak.

"My favorite thing about it though isn't the décor..it's actually the music." She laughed a little, kind of embarrassed. Because most people thought it was cheesy.

Vincent gave her an odd look, trying to withhold his amusement. "Really?"

"Yeah. I know..as corny as it may sound..I've always had a soft spot for Christmas carols." She went on, still abashed.

Vincent then chuckled to himself as she drunk some wine. Catherine's head shot up and she gave him an insulted look.

"Is that funny to you?" She asked in a joking manner, but somewhat humorless.

Vincent sat down his glass and slowed down his laughter. He shook his head as he gazed at her.

"No it's not." He tried to retire his wit, the corners of his mouth still threatening to turn up.

An idea raced into his head when he saw the big black piano in the near distance. He stood up out the stool and Catherine asked him what he was doing. He remained silent as he walked to the piano and pulled the seat out for himself. Catherine looked around at first but she couldn't help her beaming reaction at him willing to play the piano to show her. She sat back to see if he could really play and it turned out that he could. She heard herself hum the words as he played Joy To The World. It was one of the many songs her dad played on the piano when her and Heather were kids and her mom would encourage that they all sing. It was surely one of the main reasons she loved this time of year and Christmas.

She never expected Vincent to be this guy, he certainly kept surprising her and somehow he kept warming his way closer to her. It was like a Vincent invasion and she had no choice but to be a captive.

"Hey..Catherine?" Her voice said behind her and she turned around.

She braced a tight smile as she saw another one of her exes. "Evan!" She said, stepping off her stool.

"Hi!" She greeted him and he held out his arms for a hug. She smiled awkwardly as she gave him a hug and he planted a small kiss on her cheek.

Vincent quickly stopped playing when he looked up and saw Catherine hugging the unfamiliar guy.

"Wow, funny bumping into you here." Evan quipped and Catherine did her best to laugh.

"Hysterical!" She added on as a joke, mainly to cover her awkwardness.

"Yeah..Hey listen, I'm just on my way out but Claire was wondering if we're still on for dinner in the new year." He wondered.

"Oh- you bet!" Catherine reassured him.

"Great. Because we should really do it this time."

"I agree." She said, feeling somewhat bad. Evan had went on to marry someone else named Claire a little while after she canceled their engagement. She was happy for Evan, she was. But had did her best to stir clear of him. She knew she had hurt him as well and that's all she thought about every time she saw him.

"Okay good!" Evan said, straightening up his suit jacket. "So uh..the forecast is calling for a ninety percent chance of dinner." He cracked a weather joke, since he did work as a weather man.

"Oh you go it!" Catherine returned.

"Alright, see you soon." Evan told her as he walked away. He looked to Vincent who he assumed was the entertainment for the night and told him _Great work_ before putting some money into the jar on the piano.

Vincent gave him a weird look before looking to Catherine as he got up and walked back over to the bar stools.

"Sorry." Catherine mumbled to him and Vincent just shook his head.

"Who was that?" He just asked instead and she took a long sip of her wine before answering him.

"Um, that was Evan..one of my fiances. He's married now to this lovely woman named Claire." She informed him but Vincent was still stuck on the word _fiance_.

"Oh..another fiance?" He asked, trying to make sure he was hearing right.

Catherine said mhmm as she continued to drink her beverage.

"How many have you had?" He went on to ask, really curious and scared of her answer at the same time.

"Three. Evan, Patrick and Zach." She said quickly, almost like it wasn't a big deal. But she knew it was and how weird it was gonna get between them yet again.

Vincent just kept quiet as he picked his glass up as well. He sipped his wine, trying to find something- anything really to say to that..but he was lost for words. What could he say? She was engaged three times! Why was this happening to him?

"Okay, well.." She started as she sat her glass down and stood up again. "So if you're okay, I'm gonna go ahead and confirm this order and then um..I can just email you. That sound good?" She rushed him as she was trying to escape this unfortunate moment.

"Yeah..yeah that sounds good." He agreed, he himself needing a departure.

"Great." Catherine said as she threw her scarf back on. She looked to Vincent as she began to back away, "I'm just..gonna scurry out of here...and um..I'll talk to you soon?"

"Wait, you know what.." Vincent said, stopping her as he set his glass down. "Why don't I take you home?" He offered and he remembered that she did ride with him.

"Oh no, really. I have a couple more things I have to do here," She said patting the paper work she had gripped in her arm, "and..I like to walk." She lied, and Vincent could tell which made him frown. He didn't expect her to ease up entirely, but trust him to at least drive her home.

"So..I'm gonna go walk." She said with a small smile. Before Vincent could come close to saying bye, Catherine had pushed herself to leave his side. Vincent watched her leave before shaking his head to himself. He still couldn't wrap his brain around it. She had three fiances? No wonder she was always on the defense.

He picked up his glass and drunk the entirety of his wine, which was much easier to swallow down than her news. He knew the chances of Catherine saying yes to anything he offered was very slim. What had he gotten himself into.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**What did you think? Decided to make this longer than the others since I was late. :) What do you think will happen next? Will Vincent give up or will Catherine ease up? Well the next chapter, they spend even more time together at his place! Ouu la la haha. Please review and tell me your thoughts! XD **


	5. Chapter 5: All About You

HEY GUYS! XD I hope you love this chapter, next one will be up soon! So just enjoy and excuse any and all errors if you can haha

***DISCLAIMER*** This story is inspired by work that is not mines. I don't own BATB or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: All About You<p>

_**A Couple Days Later**_

_**Vincent**_

"Three times..she's been engaged three times." Vincent finally told his friends as they made their way to the hot dog stand not too far from work. The weekend had rolled over quickly and even though there was work and other things to worry about, he still couldn't shake the bug that was Catherine. She had told him the last time they saw each other that she had tried to get married three times...and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He wanted to win the bet, but a part of him wanted to win her over. Needed to. Catherine was certainly a challenge and he honestly didn't know why they progressed, then took five steps backward. Or fifthteen.

"Well..maybe it'll be easy for her to say yes?" Charles provided a possibility and a grin of hope, "She's done it three times."

"No, three times too many!" Vincent opposed and Matt shook his head and couldn't help but grin as he sprung for his wallet.

"I don't know..It sounds to me you should start packing your cubicle Charles." Matt joked and Vincent chose to ignore his friend. He knew there was most definitely a large possibility that he wouldn't get Catherine to say yes and win the bet, but Matt's constant cracks about it only made him want to try harder and prove him wrong. There was something he had to do, he just didn't know what yet.

"There's gotta be a reason she didn't go through with it with these guys..." Charles contemplated as Vincent too started to rack his brain as he looked to his shorter friend. That's when Charles face lit up light the Christmas tree at night when they thought invaded his mind.

"Maybe they didn't have anything in common!" I got it, find out what she likes man!" He advised as he patted Vincent on the shoulder. "I never knew I loved cabbage roles until I married Sped Lana, it's why we're perfect for each other."

Matt laughed to himself as he passed down the hot dogs and Vincent too gave a crazy expression. The way Charles and Sped Lana met was ridiculous and he didn't know if an example of their moments was comforting..but Charles did have a point. Vincent didn't know too much about what Catherine liked or did in her free time besides redecorating places.

"Well we both like scary movies.." Vincent brought up, not able to configure any other common likes.

"That's great." Matt chimed in, "You can both bond over the exorcist." He said with sarcasm evident. "That's romantic." He deadpanned as he turned to face Vincent who seemed to be actually considering his friends idea.

"I'm sorry, were you talking?" He shot back to Matt even when everything was heard.

"No, I'm just saying..a lot of relationships are built on horror films. That's a real connection." He bantered and Vincent just rolled his eyes at his smart remarks.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later On<strong>_

Vincent walked back into the kitchen to see Catherine seated firmly on his counter-top as the men paraded back and forth into his condo. Today all of his new furniture was being delivered and of course Catherine was around to make sure everything arrived and was in place.

"What about this one?" Asked the tall scruffy man carrying the big and round object.

"Oh! That's the side table, that goes over by the window. Thanks." She told the carrier as he struggled to see pass the large object he was holding. Vincent quickly moved out the way to avoid getting hit, brushing pass Catherine's legs as he stood against the table beside her.

"Be careful.." She warned the men as they wobbled with the heavy items.

Vincent just stayed out of harms way and caught himself watching Catherine, almost in amazement. She did what she did best, be in control and directed the pieces the way she wanted them.

Suddenly Catherine stopped pointing around and giving orders when she noticed something about Vincent's place. She looked back at Vincent and he leaned up to portray like he wasn't just goggling over her.

"Hey, do you have any wall art? Like pictures or photos?" She asked him, only seeing the one he had when she first saw his place. Vincent shrugged his shoulders after a while, realizing he didn't have any other art.

"Uh, no just Beaulieu's piece." He said and she cracked a light laugh and shook her head.

"Yeah but your not a fan." She reminded him and he rubbed his palms together as he looked around.

"What? You don't think it'll work?" He questioned and Catherine still shook her head no. She then sighed at his puzzled face. She moved her hands around, searching for the right words to use.

"Art should be...personal." She settled on. "You know..it should mean something to you." She expressed and still analyzed his place. She noticed he didn't have any personal or family photos.

"Do you have any family portraits? Brothers? Sisters?" She pushed as her eyes gazed over his face. He moved in closer to her as the guy toted the big box pass them both, almost running into Vincent and he apologized. Vincent opened his mouth to answer her but paused when he caught Catherine look a bit muddled at their contact. He was just standing right next to her, his side digging into hers as the men zoomed by. He smiled to himself just at her reaction, even though it lasted literally seconds.

"Um no.." He revealed, gripping the edge of the counter. "You're looking at an only child." He admitted as his eyes floated back and forth to her and the workers. Vincent took this as an opportunity to get to know more about her.

"How about you? You got anyone else besides your sister?" He dug and she continued to lead the men all over but shook her head.

"Uh, no just me and my parents. But we're all pretty close." She simply said.

Vincent watched the last guy waltz in and he pushed himself off the counter and turned around to face her.

"So tell me..what do you like to do?" He asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. "Outside of designing of course." He added with a small smile.

Catherine laughed a little to herself and gave him a strange look. Not because of the question, just that fact that it was directed to her. She was a great designer, but her life was pretty simple compared to her job habits.

"Um..." She started, gripping the pen in her hand a little tighter because of her slight nerves, "Well I volunteer at a dog shelter." She said, almost as if she didn't know if that even counted as a hobby. Vincent's eyes beamed with interest as he tilted his head.

"Really?" He asked, she didn't know it but he thought that was beyond amazing.

"Yeah." She confirmed, giving an fetching laugh. "Barkley dog shelter. It's really the only way I can satisfy my urge to have a dog. My sister has allergies." She clued in and gave an odd look at Vincent's smirk.

"I love dogs." He said, walking around the counter to retrieve something from the drawer.

Catherine grinned to herself, obviously thinking he was joking. "Yeah, I can tell from your pet free building." She made known and he shook his head giving her a look.

"No, no really..I love dogs." He professed, pulling out a small wooden box onto the counter. Catherine turned to see what Vincent was getting, fully intrigued to see what he had to show her.

Vincent smiled before pressing his lips together as he walked back around the counter so she could get a better look. "Here." He said handing her the picture.

"What's this?" She asked, glancing up at him.

"You asked me if I had any family portraits..well, that's it. Just me and my dog Luke." He acknowledged, crossing his arms as he towered over her.

Catherine couldn't fight the giggle that flowed through her body. She smiled widely at the sight of the captured moment. Vincent's looked to be about nine or ten, playing outside in the yard with his shaggy, but cute dog that was about his size. Vincent's eyes were shut tight as the dog in the photo gave him a wet kiss on the side of his face.

"That's very cute." She said, still with a small titter of laughter. She looked back up at Vincent as he continued to relive the moment, the one part of his childhood where things were great.

"Yeah, he was a good dog." Vincent remembered, still peering down at the shot.

"Sir?" The man crocked, which made them both look up at him. He stomped over in his thick black boots, handing the clipboard with the form to sign to Vincent.

"Thanks." He said shortly, grabbing the pen that Catherine offered him. She jumped off the counter and moved pass them as Vincent signed the forms. He told the man in charge thank you again before handing him the papers back and letting him leave.

Catherine looked around at the items and felt herself panic a little, "Wait, I could have sworn lamps were coming with this delivery." She said, running a hand through her curls.

Vincent slowly turned around and looked at her confused face. Catherine bit her lip as she stared at him in deep thought. She dropped her hands to her side and put on a reassuring smile.

"You know what, I'll give them a call and see if they're still coming." She resulted in and Vincent let a smile play on his lips as he was presented with another idea.

"Well look..if you don't have to do anything..I don't have to go anywhere either. I can..I don't know, get some takeout and we can wait till they come." He suggested and he could tell that she was actually considering his proposal (lol ;) which gave him more hope than ever.

"What do you like? You like sushi, thai..." He dragged on, waiting for her to say either.

She just shrugged her shoulders and gave an uneasy look, "I could go for a burger." She replied. She wasn't that crazy about sushi at all.

Vincent slowly smiled at her, "You sure?"

"Yeah." She said indefinitely.

"Okay." They agreed. "I'll get some cheeseburgers then, there's a great spot down the street." He briefed as he grabbed his suit jacket and car keys off the table.

He was making his way to the elevator but stopped and turned around, "Don't leave..okay?" He cautioned and she just said okay as he continued to walk.

"We'll hang out till the lamps arrive." Catherine heard him say as he finally left the floor. She smiled to herself for a minute before looking back down at the picture of Vincent in her hands. She wondered why he kept it in his drawer, it was such a nice photo. She began contemplating her ideas of what she could do with it exactly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later On<strong>_

It had already gotten dark outside and they were still waiting on lamps to arrive. Both of them were sitting on the couch, eating and watching a old scary movie Vincent bought from the store.

"Oh, this parts nasty." Vincent said with a disgusted look and Catherine just laughed at his facial expression. She watched as Vincent's attention was focused on the old flick and from time to time he'd take a fry off the plate they were sharing.

"Hey.." Catherine suddenly said, "What about a piano in the corner?" She asked, pointing to the empty space ahead.

Vincent dragged his eyes from the old woman heading down the basement and looked to her. He looked to where she was referring to and nonchalantly shook his head.

"No- well..I don't really play." He claimed and Catherine rolled her eyes at his dishonesty.

"Oh please, yes you do." She counterclaimed, not forgetting just a few days ago he played for her. "I heard you the other night." She reminded him, grabbing a fry to stuff her mouth.

"You're great." She said, not really thinking of the fact that she was feeding him an actual compliment. And that caught Vincent's attention as he grinned, looking up at her.

"Thanks." He returned terse, still smiling as she looked at him.

"You're welcome." She responded.

"My mom and I used to play carols every Christmas." He shared, explaining why he could play in the first place. "At least until the divorce. After that, Christmas was different." He said with grin taking over a more serious look as he looked back to the movie.

Catherine thought to herself how awful that must have been for him. She didn't know how it felt to be going back and forth between parents and living in two houses. Her parents were always together every since she could remember.

"That must have been hard, who'd you spend Christmas with?" She pushed, not trying to seem too invading.

"Whoever the lawyers decided." He explaining, still looking ahead.

Catherine gave a simple nod and just went back to watching the movie. She just left the conversation as it was. Besides, she knew he most likely didn't want to talk more about it and they were suppose to be watching the movie.

Catherine made her way back to the screen and it was the moment when the lady was about to be killed. She found herself leaning leaning back even further on the couch as she still what scene was coming.

"Uh oh." She said as the idiotic woman got further and further into the dark room with her dim flashlight.

"Run!" Vincent said, talking to the screen.

Just then, Catherine jumped back slightly as the killer grabbed the lady from the side and stabbed her.

Both Vincent and Catherine bellowed out a scream as they heard a loud noise from behind. Catherine actually tossed the tray of fries she was so frightened. They both looked back to see the delivery man holding the lamps that they were waiting on.

Vincent eased his heart rate as he let himself breathe. He looked to Catherine who was calming down herself. "The lamps." He said, that being the source of terror.

Catherine looked to Vincent before she laughed at how ridiculous they must of seemed. She didn't even hear the guy knock. Then she thought he didn't, he came through the elevator.

Vincent shook his head at Catherine chuckling.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Next Morning<strong>_

Heather sipped some of her steaming coffee as she eyed her sister who was decorating their mother's Christmas tree.

"So let me get this straight..you and Vincent were having dinner and watching a movie...together...alone?" She emphasized on the two words.

Catherine grinned and gave her sister a pointed look, "Yes..but before you say anything else, it wasn't like that." She began to reason their little "date".

"No..we were working. We were waiting for that delivery." She informed her, placing the string of the round ornament on the long branch.

"Uh huh." Heather resulted in, not believing her sister and not even sure if she believed herself.

Catherine stopped what she was doing and turned towards Heather who was seating down, "Heath, he's a client and one that **you** insisted we take on." She reminded her, reaching to grab another ornament out the box.

Heather looked up at her from drinking more of her morning delight.

"Besides, even if I was interested, which I'm not, it would never work." She said, trying to convince her sibling. "He was in the middle of his parents awful divorce when he was younger. I don't doubt that he's got major commitment issues." She voiced and Heather perked.

"Well, I'm sure that that's a good thing for you that he's not the marrying kind."

Catherine glanced at her sister and jerked her shoulders, " I don't know..I think that it's kind of sad." She expressed and Heather squinted.

"Sad that he's not..the marrying kind?" She reached and grinned when Catherine looked at her.

"Don't turn this around on me Heath, I know what you're trying to do." She accused and Heather just gave a clueless look as she raised her hand in defense.

"Turn what around?" Vanessa asked chipper as she carried in another box of Christmas junk to hang on the tree.

"Nothing." Catherine said quickly, looking back to the tree.

Vanessa gave her a weird look before looking to Heather too, "What's going on girls?" She pestered.

Heather opened her mouth to speak but then her phone started to buzz on the table, signaling that she had a text message.

"Ouu!" She said racing to her feet to reach over and grab her mobile device. She checked the screen and hopped on her feet, "There's my lunch meeting, gotta go!" She said sprinting out the room.

"Perfect, I'll go with you!" Catherine offered, wanting to meet their other client and also wanting to escape their noisy mother.

"No!" Heather suddenly said as she swung around. "You know what, I can handle this. You two have fun." She added jokingly as she she pointed at her sister and mom. Catherine frowned as her sister ran out the door.

Catherine closed her eyes and sighed as her back faced her mother. She already knew her mom was conjuring up some kind of relationship for her in her head. She'd have to do her best to keep her mind of it. She turned around to face her with a plastered smile.

"So...what do you think of the tree Mom?" She asked and Vanessa gave her an odd look, not looking to the tree once.

"Are you seeing someone?" She slowly asked, sitting the big box down on the table. She knew how Catherine acted in these types of situations. She was dodgy and secretive at first and that's what Vanessa was sensing.

Catherine gave her a blundering smile as she shook her head, "No.." giving a sheepish laugh. "I'm not seeing anyone." She tried to convince her mom. "Cookies?" She threw out before rushing to the kitchen.

Vanessa just stood there, fetching a small smile. She knew something was up with Catherine.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later On – Vincent <strong>_

"It was so funny, because we were sitting there watching a scary movie and the delivery guy..comes in and scares the shit out of us." He told his friends about him and Catherine's night. He had been going on and on about it since they started playing poker.

"This girl..she likes burgers guys, not thai, not sushi but burgers and fries." He expressed in disbelief and Matt gave him a odd look, and looked to the rest of the guys as well. Neither of them understood Vincent's fascination.

"I mean how many girls do you know that'll dig into a twelve ounce fat boy. Oh, and she likes dog!" He remembered as he went on. "She volunteers at a dog shelter-

"Okay! Enough, enough Romeo!" Matt shouted as he could barely focus on his own hand. "We're all in here, are you gonna play your hand or not?" He stressed and Vincent looked back down to his hand. He somehow forgot about it.

"Oh..right." He said scrutinizing his hands.

"Well..it sounds like you may be perfect for each other." Charles realized as he looked to Vincent.

"Okay, well I wouldn't say that exactly alright. It's gotta be believable right for me to win the bet?" He tried to justify. Not understanding that'd he'd just went on and on about a girl he supposedly wasn't into. He shook the feeling off and decided to go ahead and play his hand.

Matt laughed to himself in disbelief and threw his cards down, "Unbelievable. Well I'm out." He said, rising out of his chair.

"What, your leaving already?" Vincent asked his friend as he pulled on his coat.

"Yeah, I got an early squash game in the morning." Matt revealed and Charles grabbed his things as well.

"And Sped Lana's family is coming in for Christmas." Charles said before downing his last drops of beer.

Vincent leaned back in his chair and looked to his other friend. "What about you Steve? You gonna stick around for another game?" He questioned, picking up his cup."

"Oh no..I told Bev that I was renting a DVD." He said, lifting his butt out the chair.

"For two hours?" Matt asked with a strange look but Steve nodded his head.

"Yeahh, she thinks I'm indecisive." He joked and Matt and Charles chuckled as they all made their way to the elevator.

"Alright buddy, remember you got three weeks left to make it happen." Matt warned Vincent as he got up as well to see them out.

"Not a problem." Vincent said, sure of himself as he watched them file into the small box.

"See you man!" Charles said, throwing a wave at Vincent before they all left.

He was all alone now, with nothing to do. It seemed like everyone else had plans so far except him, he needed to find something to do. Something that would involve Catherine somehow. He picked up his cup and made his way to his new couch and took a seat. He sat back and look to the side to see one of the throw pillows Catherine picked out. It was beige, with black and white stitching. He smiled when he saw the etching of the in the center of it. He knew she had picked these out because of the story he had told her about recently. He looked over the dog again before fetching the perfect idea. He knew how he was gonna spend his morning.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Catherine<strong>_ – _**The Next Morning**_

She leaned down and laughed as the dog practically ran to her arms.

"Guess what?" She said to the dog she was fond of since the day he started volunteering there. She kissed his head as he tried to lick her face. "We are gonna get you all pretty because you have a family coming to look at you.." And the dog just tilted his head at her and she smiled as she brushed the side of his hair.

"Catherine?" The other woman asked as she searched for her. Catherine looked up at Ronda who worked at the shelter.

"Yeah?" Catherine said, preparing to lift herself to her feet.

"I was wondering if you could show our new volunteer what needs to get done around here?" She asked and Catherine quickly nodded her head.

"Yeah, sure." She said brushing off her jeans and stood up.

"This way." She told the guest and he walked around the corner.

Catherine stopped when she saw Vincent greet her with his presence and a smile. "Vincent." She said, a bit shocked.

"You two know each other?" Ronda asked looking to them back and forth. "Even better." She smiled as she went to leave.

"Thank you." He said to her as she left them alone. He turned and looked back at Catherine, slowly giving her a delighted expression. "Well let's get to it."

Catherine shook her head as she took on a smile, she couldn't believe he actually came. This would surely be something.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**The chapter will be cute and funny! XD I know you all can't wait, so please review and let me know your thoughts! I love reading all of you guys thoughts. I hope you all know that Vincent WILL NOT quit as you can see and you can kind of see Catherine warming up, but still obviously in denial, trying to keep thing platonic. So what do you think will happen next with their little adventures? Let me know! ;)**


	6. Chapter 6: Rest of My Life

Merry Christmas everyone! x) Hope you enjoy this one! May just post again tonight if I get home in a decent hour! Please enjoy this chapter when you get a chance to read it and review! Excuse the errors xP

***DISCLAIMER*** This story is inspired by work that is not mines. I don't own BATB or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Rest of My Life<p>

"What are you doing here?" She asked, pleasantly surprised as she delved her hands into the back of her jean pockets.

Vincent moved his feet along as he walked towards her. He shrugged his shoulders as his features took over his natural grin.

"You inspired me." He admitted, smiling down at one of the dogs for a moment before looking back to her. "And besides..if I can't have a dog, I think your right. This may be the next best thing." He said as she gave him a knowing look. He pulled his eyes away from Catherine when a dog's whimpering was heard from below. He looked down to see the dog crying for his attention and probably begging to be tussled with.

"Who's this guy?" He asked her as he reached down to the dog's level. He smiled as the dog dug his head more and more into Vincent's caress. Catherine laughed as she got down on her knees as well to pet the dog she loved dearly.

"That's Jake." She revealed in a adorable way. She let her fingers run quickly over the dog's trimmed hair, scuffing him up even more. "I think he likes you." She said, continuing to admire the loving creature.

Vincent smiled to himself as he watched the dog looked back at Catherine's touch and try to lick her face, which made her giggle.

"Well..it seems to me like he likes you a little more, which I don't blame him." He said looking to her and Catherine took over a small smile as she looked to Vincent. She looked back to the dog, deciding not to say anything. She patted the dog one last time before rising back up to her feet.

Vincent hastily brushed his pants off before pushing himself upward as well.

"So..what can I do?" He asked, looking to Catherine for demands he knew she could deliver.

She opened her mouth, but she didn't really have anything major in mind. She had already done most of the work before Vincent arrived. But there was one thing she hadn't gotten to yet, it wasn't the most delightful thing to do, but it had to be done.

"Well.." She began as she looked around. The tools were against the fence to her left as she retrieved them. Vincent watched her, waiting as she walked over to the next pen. She looked back to Vincent as she pressed her lips together.

"I think you can start by cleaning Mr. Lincolns kennel." She said, handing the objects out for Vincent to grab.

He gave her a rotten look before delivering a tight smile. He knew she was testing him, to see if he was really serious about taking over a new responsibility. And he would prove to her that he was serious.

"Yeah..okay." He said, nodding his head as he grabbed the two shovels out her grips. Catherine grinned to herself as she moved back for Vincent to enter the pen.

He stood outside the gate and looked at the small dog from the other side, almost cautiously.

"Your not scared..are you?" She teased from behind and Vincent scoffed as he looked back to Catherine, lowering his eyes.

"Of course not." He said, letting his hand latch onto the gate and pull it open to show her he was anything but frightened by the tiny dog. "Mr. Lincoln.." Vincent breathed and the little dog barked as a response and jumped rapidly at the sight of company.

"You have such a distinguished name for such a little guy." He told the dog as if he understood and he leaned down to pick up the dog that was more than happy to be carried. Vincent's smile quickly fell as he walked further inside and he then took over a distasteful look.

"Oh...wow." He said as he noticed all of the poo left by the tiny animal. Catherine hung her head down as she laughed quietly to herself at his reaction. She unfolded her arms and stepped forward.

"Here, let me take him off your hands." She said and Vincent sighed in relief as he struggled with his hands being full.

"Alright." He said turning around, handing the dog to her. Vincent gave her a slight smile as she gave the dog an infectious smile as she roped him in her arms. Vincent turned around to get the rest of the foul leftovers, putting on a brave face for Catherine even though it smelled really bad in there. Catherine continued to grin as she caressed the small dog nestled in her arms.

Vincent set the shovels against the wall and looked at her as he spun around. "So uh..you want to take them for a walk?" He asked as his hands found their way into his own pockets. Catherine gave a pondering look before Vincent started pouting at her in a cute way and she shook her head as she laughed. That face was certainly new to her and she couldn't find herself to reject it.

She put leashes on both Jake and Lincoln and then Vincent and her walked towards the back of the building to walk the trail they had in the open field. She was walking the small white and fluffy terrier while Vincent was walking the big and scruffy Jake who would have been happy with either walking him. Vincent learned quickly that he was a very energetic dog that was desperate to launch any chance given.

"You know, I begged my parents for years to let me have a dog." Catherine suddenly said as she thought back to her youthful days and how everything seemed unfair to her. "But my sister's allergies made it impossible. Figures..and now I live with her." She said, mainly to herself at the irony. Vincent chuckled a little and she looked at him with beady eyes.

"You know how lucky you are your parents let you have a dog?" She went on, the kid in her didn't fail to burn with jealously.

Vincent continued to walk a bit ahead since he took bigger steps and Jake was testing him, but Catherine managed to keep up. He smirked to himself as he shook his head.

"Nahhh, I don't know about that." He rejected and Catherine rose her eyebrows in question.

"After the divorce, they um..thought it was too much work. So they decided to bring Luke to the pound." He recited the memory that he most likely never forget. He remembered how much he hated his parents for it, not fully understanding at his age. He couldn't understand how they could get rid of Luke, who quickly became apart of the family.

"Since then, it's been hard for me to get too attached to anything." He admitted, shooting her a glance. Catherine watched him as they kept walking. A part of her wondered if it was people instead of things he couldn't find himself getting close to. That was a quality she expected but afraid that he possessed.

They were coming to the end of the trail that led back to the shut door that separated the park and the building. Vincent noticed a stick near by and the second he picked it up it captured Jake's attention. He did his best to stay seated as Vincent hung the stick high in the air. He dangled it lower and lower until Jake jumped his highest and clamp the stick between his teeth as he landed back on the ground. He actually impressed Vincent and Catherine cheered the dog on, telling him the good boy he was.

"Catherine!" said a voice and she turned around and couldn't help but drop her playful mood. It was Zach walking through the door. She mentally cursed his arrival. She didn't know why he was so persistent with following her schedule when all she wanted was for him to forget about it completely.

Catherine looked back to Vincent who was fighting to get the stick out of Jake's mouth as the dog growled with dominance. Vincent still kept a grip on it as he looked to Catherine and her ex who'd just shown up.

"Uh..it's Zach." She said, not even knowing why she felt the need to tell Vincent before walking over to her ex. "I'll be right back." She simply said and Vincent just nodded his head and said okay as she took the small dog with her.

Zach had his smile prepared as she walked up to him with a bit of confusion.

"Ronda told me you 'd be here with the dogs. I..didn't know you'd have company." He mentioned as he glanced at Vincent.

Catherine's eyes bugged a little as she nodded her head. She realized how this must look since she first introduced him as her client and now they were seen together again.

"Vincent? Yeah..." She dragged on as she looked back to him. He was still enduring a round of tug-a-war with Jake, he was really not letting up at all. She laughed at the sight and looked back to Zach. "He's volunteering at the shelter." She announced and she wondered why Zach wore an unpleasant look. A disproving look that she didn't understand, because he never once asked to volunteer.

"Oh.." Zach responded in disbelief. "First he's a client and now he's a volunteer..okay." He resulted in. He now had it in his mind that this Vincent guy was clearly trying to win her over, but in his head he knew he never had a chance. (or so he thought ;) He thought what him and Catherine had was stronger, heck they almost got married. He knew that she just probably needed time. So was he worried about Vincent? Not the least bit.

"Well um..I wanted to talk to you about setting another date." He brought up and she was more than confused now.

"A date?" She asked, unclear of what he meant.

"Look..I can understand if you don't want to do the whole ceremony thing again, we can skip that. Maybe just go to city hall or something." He developed as a 'good' idea and Catherine just closed her eyes as she looked down. She honestly didn't know how to break it down any clearer for him. Did she have to pay to have a message written in the sky?

"Listen I-"

"Think of how happy this is gonna make your mother." He interrupted her and she tilted her head. Her mother? He should be considering how unhappy this was gonna make the bride.

"And your dad's already given us his blessing, all we have to do now is seal the deal." He said with his smile taking over. "We could make a really good life together." He tried to convince her and she still remained non-responsive.

Vincent was only twenty feet away, if that. He was trying to listen, not being able to help being nosy. All he wanted to know was what Zach was saying to her, and so far he heard the words of a delusional guy. A guy that couldn't get over her or take a hint. He seriously thought they were still getting married. He didn't know how things were in their relationship or how Catherine felt about him, but he knew it couldn't be much if she broke off their engagement. He thought that should have spoken to Zach loud and clear. The last thing he heard him say was _we could make a really good life together_ and that..that got under his skin for some reason. More than he would like to admit. There was no way he would let this Zach guy crawl his way back.

_We could make a really good life together _he said. Catherine heard him but it didn't make any sense to her. She could see a great life one day...just not with Zach. She looked up at him in an apologetic way, not wanting to hurt his feelings but she had to be brutally honest at this point. Before she could utter out a word she heard Vincent call out for Jake. She turned around quickly and saw Jake had pried the wooden toy from Vincent hands and had took off running.

"Jake! Jake!" Vincent called out as he watched the dog run playfully. He looked over to Catherine who who was wearing his expression. Vincent decided to take off running and Catherine quickly handed Zach the other dogs leash as she prepared to run after the dog herself.

"I'll be right back!" She told Zach as she ran in Vincent's direction.

Zach held out his hand to oppose but sighed to himself as they helplessly chased the fast animals. It seemed like they were running all over the place and no matter who called out for Jake, he kept parading the two around like it was a game. All while keeping the pesky stick in his mouth. He finally circled around the park and was running full speed toward the building in Zach's direction. Vincent stopped in his tracks as he held up his finger to warn Zach.

"Stop him! Stop him!" He shouted as Catherine ran up beside him and yelled out as well.

"Zach, grab him!" She told him and Zach gave off a sense of calm as he watch the dog race towards him.

"I got him." He tried to reassure them as he crouched down. He was sure he had the dog, but the dog was still going at a ridiculous speed towards him and he stood up in preparation. He patted his legs and called out for the dog, but once Jake reached him, he knocked Zach backwards into the bushed nearby and turned around to head towards Vincent and Catherine. It was almost like Zach was doggy kicked as all of Jake's paws pressed into his chest.

Catherine held her breath and looked to Vincent who couldn't help but crack a small laugh. She punched him playfully when she knew it was pretty hilarious. She fought off her smirk way better than he did and shook her head as she began walking over to see if Zach was okay.

Vincent smirked to himself as he watched the scene in front of him. Jake ran over to Vincent, finally bringing his the stick and Vincent laughed as he leaned down to pet the dog.

"Good boy, good boy..." He said silently to the dog and the dog barked back in agreement. Vincent smiled to himself. He guessed they both didn't care for Zach.

* * *

><p><em><strong>After the Walk<strong>_

"Poor guy, you think he's gonna be okay?" Vincent joked as he still laughed at the trick Jake pulled on Zach at the park.

"Zach? Oh, he'll be fine." She said more than actually thinking about his well-being. Vincent was still trying to control his laugh as they were walking the dogs back to their pens. Catherine stopped when she got to Lincoln's first. Vincent stopped and looked to Catherine as she was pulling the dog inside. Something was puzzling him.

"When did you know Zach, Evan and..."

"Patrick?" Catherine said, filling in the blank name.

"Patrick!" Vincent remembered the second she said it. "When did you know they weren't the ones?" He wondered and she shrugged her shoulders.

"When they proposed I guess." She said as she walked out of the pen and back into Vincent's sight. "The idea of spending the rest of my life with them...I just kind of panicked." She stated as she closed the dog in.

Vincent's eyes trailed her as she grabbed the leash easily from his hands as she went for Jake.

"But isn't that normal? Aren't you supposed to get cold feet?" He thought, of course he wouldn't know for certain since he's never been engaged, but he just assumed it was the normal thing to feel sometimes.

"I don't think so." Catherine opinionated as she closed the last door and looked to Vincent. "I think..when your truly in love..the idea of spending the rest of your life with someone..should make you the happiest you've ever been." She delivered with a small smile. Vincent stared at her as she backed away towards the exit. She told him she was leaving now and that he could too. They said their goodbyes and he still found her exact words on repeat. She made marriage sound a bit more bearable. Growing up, everything he witnessed and knew about marriage was displayed by his parents and they failed at it. He had to know of course there were successful marriages and relationships..he just didn't know if he was any good at it himself. He never really tried or bothered before...but now he had a new reason to.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later On<strong>_

"Come on! You don't wanna be late for game night!" She yelled to Heather as she was pulling her coat on downstairs.

"Actually.." Heather said as she ran down the stairs. "I'm not going to mom and dad's." She revealed as she tossed her phone in her clutch.

Catherine looked to her sister in shocked at her answer and then in even more shock at what Heather was wearing. She had taken the time to curl her fallen strands and he makeup was laid on lightly but with a pop of red lipstick. She had on a short and sparkly black dress that fit greatly in her favor. Catherine placed a hand on her hip as she gave her sister a squinted look.

"Woah...and where are you going? Surely it's not to run an errand." She teased as she made sure she noticed her outfit.

"On a date." Heather told her sister as she placed a small smile upon her lips.

"Wow.." Catherine said as she smiled widely. "That's really great Heath." She said truthfully, happy to see her sister go out and do something. She was usually crazy about clients and more clients, but now, she was doing something for herself.

Heather smiled as she pulled her scarf on. "Well it's been a while.." She acknowledged as she looked down at herself to check her appearance.

"Okay?"Heather asked to be certain as she slightly spun around.

Catherine gave her sister somewhat of a full inspection before giving her a big smile, "Beautiful." She complimented and Heather smiled herself as she clutched her hand bag. She gave herself one more look before heading out the front door.

"Don't be home too early!" Catherine shouted to her sister as she finally left their house. Catherine inhaled a deep breath and went ahead and finished some decorations around the house before leaving. Twenty minutes had passed by and she was ready to go. She knew game night wouldn't be that fun without Heather, but she decided she'd go anyway.

She stepped one foot out the door and paused when she saw a car pull up in front of their driveway. She forced her eyes to focus and noticed that it was Vincent. She made her way down the stairs as he shut off his car and got out. She gave him a questionable look as he wore his small smile.

"Hey..I just wanted to let you know there's a bunch of guys in hazmat suits and mask in my condo.." He witnessed, unsure of what was going on. Catherine instantly shut her eyes and rubbed her forward. She had completely forgot to tell him.

"I didn't know if I should pull out the boxing gloves and start defending myself." He partially goofed as he took a few shots of the air.

Catherine shook her head and she sighed.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you I'm having your floors refinished. Your gonna love it, it's just that..."

"What?" Vincent asked after she failed to finish.

"You can't walk in your apartment for about six hours." She revealed, giving a sort of contrite look.

Vincent licked his lips before giving her a final nod. "Well I guess I'm eating out tonight." He said in a inviting way.

Catherine smiled at his appealing gesture and actually tossed the thought around, but she knew she and her sister's couldn't both bail tonight.

"You want to join me?" He offered, stepping closer towards her.

"Uh..I was actually headed to my parent's house for game night.." She informed him.

"Game night?" He formed, inquiring on exactly what that was.

"Yeah.." She said, laughing a bit dorky.

"Well that sounds like fun." He pushed, looking to the side for a moment.

Catherine looked up at him as he lingered with interest. She knew he was saying it to seem nonchalant, but she knew he secretly wanted to join. Plus, he couldn't go home and it was her fault.

She gave an odd expression as she played with the ends of her scarf, "Do you want to come?" She asked, letting her teeth clamp on her bottom lip.

Vincent looked back to her, pretending to be surprised at being invited and she shook her head and grinned.

"I mean if you want me to. But before I go any further..I just have to tell you I play cards with my friends once a week, and I'm pretty good." He notified her and she gave him a challenging look.

"That's funny because I have a reputation in my family for being pretty lucky with cards."

"Oh do you?" He asked with a tempting smirk and she didn't back down as she matched his stare.

"Yeah." She said matter of fact.

"That's funny as well because I have the same reputation with my friends. Lucky." He said with confidence. "And..they also say that I have a really good poker face." He etched out as he tried to simper his grin.

"Huh." Catherine just said as she looked him up and down. "So..your saying you think you can beat me?" She asked like it was absurd.

"Yes." He spoke firmly as he let his eyes run over her angelic features. "Yes I'm saying I can beat you." He returned and she accidentally let her own eyes fall down to his mouth and she swallowed as he took over a satisfied grin.

"Then your on." She threw back and he stood tall as he backed up.

"Ladies first." He spoke with amusement evident as he led her to his vehicle.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Catherine's Parents House<strong>_

Vanessa rushed to the door when she heard the chimes ring from the doorbell being pushed. She prepared her motherly smile as she opened the door prepared to see her girls.

Catherine gave her mother a fixed smile as she was welcomed in. "Hi!" She said at the same time, trying to be just as enthusiastic as her mother. She had to admit she felt a bit unsure on the way over. She didn't even think about what her mom would assume with her bringing Vincent over. She just hoped her mom would at least try to be content.

Vanessa looked to the tall handsome guy standing behind her Catherine and gave him a odd look before smiling. She looked to Catherine as her hand rested on her hip.

"Where's your sister?" She demanded and Catherine's eyes darted around, ready to explain.

"Uh.. she's on a date." Catherine just admitted as she smiled. Vanessa grinned at her daughter as she looked to her and Vincent.

"And I see that you've brought one along as well." She speculated and Vincent grinned to himself.

Catherine looked down and smiled as she shook her head. "Actually...this is my client, Vincent." she corrected her matchmaker mother.

"Oh.." Her mother said as she went to greet Vincent.

"Nice to meet you." He spoke with a warm smile as he stuck out his hand.

"Hey bolt!" Tom said as he walked into the room. "Good to see you." He said with a wide smile.

Catherine ignored the nickname as she gave her dad a hug. "Hey dad."

"Now who's this?" He asked, looking over at the mysterious man and Vanessa stepped in before Catherine could.

"Catherine's client." She said, hiking up her eyebrows and Tom looked back to him.

"Pleasure to meet you sir." He said, not nervous at all as he met her father. He just felt like a teenage boy coming to steal Catherine away for a date and this was the parental meeting.

"Vincent's floors are getting refinished, so I thought for the inconvenience I'd bring him along." She explained and then the oven started beeping.

"Ouuu, that's my sugar cookies!" Vanessa said happy to hear the sound. "I've got to dress them before they get cool."

Vincent looked to her in surprise. He wondered if she did them the same way his mother did a long time ago.

"Let me guess, the glass bottom method?' He asked and Vanessa gave him a look of surprise.

"Is there any other way?" She asked forming a smile and Catherine just watched them oddly as they encountered.

"You need some help?" He suddenly asked and Vanessa glanced at Catherine with a pleasing smile.

_Oh no._ Catherine thought. She knew that look. Her mother was very much taking towards Vincent and he hadn't even gotten a chance to sit down yet.

"I would love that! Come with me.." She said dragging Vincent along by the arm.

Vincent gave Catherine a big smile as he passed by her and she stood there confused to as what just happened. She turned around as she watched Vincent enter the kitchen with her mom who was rambling about other things she usually does. Tom just shook his head as he laughed. He looked down to his daughter and wrapped her in his arm as they left the door.

"I'm sure your mom won't pressure him into walking you down the isle just yet bolt." He joked and Catherine sighed because she knew that was actually a big possibility knowing her mother. She wouldn't be surprised if her mom was already thinking of all the beautiful babies they could make together.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Did you enjoy it? x) I love how they are both slowly unraveling and Catherine isn't as closed up as before. I must say, I really enjoy making VinCat fall in love over and over through these stories of mines! I kept thinking of other ideas for days. But when this is wrapped up, I'm gonna just be writing The Situation and make sure that one is done before I even type another idea, promise! I hope you all are enjoying this read, it'll be completed around chapter 11 or so. x_x **

**So have a wonderful Christmas everybody and a happy new year! See you soon! **


	7. Chapter 7: I'm All In

So so so so sorry for the wait! Freaking Christmas is gone and i'm still writing this XP I suck a ton but I can't fight real life unfortunately. But I hope you still read and enjoy this! BTW Beauty and the Beast returns late May/or June! O.O Be ready!

***DISCLAIMER*** This story is inspired by work that is not mines. I don't own BATB or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: I'm All In<p>

_**The Chandlers Residence **_

Vanessa had the batch of cookies ready to eat and looking festive. They were dressed in red and green icing with a bundle of sugar sparkles laid on top. She smiled down at her first batch of the night as she slid the warm plate on the center of the counter. Instantly, everyone's hands lurched forward to test taste them. Vanessa and Tom grinned at the sight of Vincent clearly becoming obsessed with the sweet treats.

"Oh wow, these are amazing." Vincent managed to croak out as his mouth was filled with the crumbled sweet.

Catherine glanced at him and smile to herself as she too took pleasure in the holiday treat.

"You know..." Tom started with a wide grin as he took another cookie. "The first time I tasted Vanessa's cookies, I knew I had to marry her." Tom looked to his wife and mirrored the adoring smile she was giving him.

"I understand why." Vincent complimented again as he swallowed down a bite.

"Catherine has the recipe!" Vanessa suddenly said, which made both Vincent and Catherine looked up to her. Catherine with a sense of curiosity of what her mother was implying and Vincent with his usual twig of interest.

"She could whip up you a batch, just as good as mines." Vanessa said to Vincent with a big smile and he smirked and shot Catherine a quick look, catching her shooting daggers at her persistent mother.

Vanessa gave her daughter an odd look as she played with her own hands with innocence. Catherine sighed to herself and took a forceful bite of her cookie. She was right. Her mother was doing that thing she always does and with Vincent, who was already persistent enough. She didn't dare look at him as she knew there was a 75 percent chance he was giving her his famous grin.

Tom ignored their little game and picked up the black full sack.

"Well here.." He said, catching Catherine's attention as he tried to hand her the bag across the counter. "Bolt, why don't you divvy up the chips." He offered and Catherine nodded, brushing off her hands before unraveling the bag of poker chips.

Vincent hiked an eyebrow at her nickname. He had heard him say it when they first arrived, but now he was dying to know what it was about.

"Bolt? Where'd that name come from?" He asked Tom before pulling his attention to the girl beside him. Catherine opened her mouth to speak but her Dad beat her to it.

"Ah, well just like a horse. This one bolts at the first sight of a wedding." He explained before indulging in a hearty chuckle.

Vincent tried to withhold his laughter and Catherine laughed along without humor. She hated that nickname so much.

"Don't listen to him!" Vanessa urged, giving Tom a brief look to warn him to be quiet. "I'm sure that once Catherine finds the one...she'll settle down." She rebuked and Catherine gave an odd smile before looking down.

"What about you Vincent, are you seeing anyone special?" She focused the attention on him and Catherine's head shot up. She almost badgered her mom for digging in her client personal life. She didn't know why her parents chose tonight to embarrass her. But it turned out Vincent didn't mind sharing. He seemed to actually be more comfortable than their own child.

"Uh no actually, I'm single." He spoke honestly, barely missing Catherine leave his side to walk to the dinning room table to set it up. He assumed she was finally deciding to escape this conversation as usually did. He looked back at her before his attention was pulled back to her mom.

"Do you like shortbread?" Vanessa asked as if it was life's greatest treasure.

Vincent gave her a rather serious look before nodding his head, "I love shortbread."

Vanessa gave him a smile before clapping her hands together. "I will be right back!" She promised as she went to the fridge to dig out the batter.

Vincent put on a slight smirk as he looked to Tom, "She's amazing." He voiced and Tom shook his head once in agreement.

"Oh yeah." He said without a doubt. Tom stayed in the booth seated at the counter and smiled as Vincent walked over to Catherine.

"What's all this?" Vincent asked, making Catherine jump a little at his sudden presence. Vincent looked at all the pens, markers and cutouts left on the table.

"Oh um..my mom likes to scrapbook and she's kind of obsessed with documenting our lives." She revealed as she scratched the side of her forehead.

Vincent said "uh huh" as he looked at all the books she had so far. One of them caught his eye as the cover held a photo of Catherine and Zach when they were a couple.

"This one looks interesting.." He asked as he picked up the book.

"Oh! That's mom's engagement album, you don't have to look at that one-" She spoke quickly as she went to grab the book. She gave Vincent a _really_ look as he moved it before she could take it. He smiled down at her as she continued to try to fetch it but it was no use.

"Hey.." Tom said and Vincent held the book high as he looked back to her Dad. He nodded to Vincent and moved the plate of cookies so he could bring the book to the counter so they could flip through it together.

Vincent flashed Catherine a grin and turned around, heading back to the counter and Catherine followed behind him. She was looking to her dad with bigger eyes that read _"What the hell are you doing?!" _

Catherine shook her head to herself as she stood beside Vincent, prepared to explain the stupid book before he got to see anything inside.

"Most people have wedding albums...my mom has an engagement album." She made known, with a shake of her head. Vincent looked to her with a sated grin understanding the joke. Catherine hadn't actually been married yet, but engaged? Many times.

Vincent flipped open the book and the first few pictures were of her and the guy he saw at the restaurant and her sister in some with them as well.

"That's Evan." She said pointing to the guy and Vincent nodded, knowing he had seem him before. "He was my first fiance. He was a weather man for channel 5." She said as she took a sip of her hot chocolate and Vincent continued to flip through the book.

"And..he proposed on live television during a weather forecast." She said uneasy and Vincent pressed his lips together as he stared down at the picture her mother took of the news broadcast.

"Mhmm.." Vincent hummed, seeing how that was a hard proposal to escape. Who could say no to that?

"One million viewers as witnesses.." She spoke, remembering that very horrifying moment as she stared into space.

"Lucky you." Vincent said as he lucked to her. She pulled herself out of her thoughts as she met Vincent's gaze for a moment. She bit on her lip as he looked back down to the book and turned to the next section of the book.

"There's Patrick, number two." She notified Vincent as he looked at the guy he hadn't met. "He proposed on the marquee at the theater." She acknowledged looking down at the pictures Patrick had the photographers capture.

Vincent looked at the pictures oddly, almost giving the same look it seemed Catherine had in the photos themselves.

"He's a movie critic, you know..anything for a good review I guess.." She tried explaining his whole proposal idea. Another plead for marriage she couldn't shoot down.

Vincent flipped to some of the last pictures to see her and Zach and he smirked to himself, this guy he had met.

"Oh..well you know Zach." She reminded him and Vincent nodded.

"A jumbo tron?" He asked, seeing yet another big display in-front of a lot of individuals. What was it with these guys she was picking? "That's impressive..." He finally drug out.

"Yeah, he thought so." She managed to say, looking down at the pictures along with Vincent at her shocked and partially horrid facial expression. In all the pictures, Vincent noticed she didn't look too happy. And the proposal with Zach, she looked the most terrified. Vincent laughed to himself as he flipped ahead to the last photo.

He paused when he saw the photo and Catherine remained silent herself. It was a shot of herself from her wedding day, the closest she was to ever getting married. It was a picture of Catherine in her white wedding dress, staring down into her bouquet of cream and red flowers. Her makeup was light but stunning and her hair brushed her shoulders in loose curls as it was styled up.

Vincent stared down at the photo. He knew she was gorgeous, he has saw it in action almost every day now but in this photo...she looked almost like an angel. She was absolutely mesmerizing.

He looked up to Catherine who was nibbling on a cookie out of nerves, holding it over her mug.

"You look..beautiful here." He spoke a bit breathless, looking back down at the photo.

Catherine stopped chewing and slowly looked up at him. Vincent brushed over the photo with his finger near her face and pulled it away after a seconds, realizing what he was doing. He looked to Catherine who was still watching him and she actually gave him a captivated smile. Neither of the said anything but their looks were loud and clear.

"You know, I have a great idea!" Vanessa said as she walked back in the room. They then looked to her, breaking their bond and Vanessa smiled as she put the scrapbook away.

"Why don't we sing some carols around the piano? Vincent, do you play?" Vanessa asked as she basically jumped with her cheerful mood.

"Oh, no! I don't play-"

"Vincent, yeah you do. Your great!" She said, hitting his shoulder likely to show him otherwise and Vincent shook his head at her.

"Well?" Vanessa pushed and Vincent continued to deny his talent as he sipped from his mug.

"No..no I don't play." He lied and Vanessa sort of looked to Catherine for the truth.

Catherine nodded her head yes no matter what Vincent said.

Vincent sighed as he walked to the piano with everyone a few steps behind him. He took a seat on the long chair and Vanessa quickly sat beside him.

"So..which carols do you know?" She wondered as she looked to Vincent.

He looked up to think and binned his lips that brought out his dimples.

"Um..I like...First Noel.?" He said, a little unsure if they knew it or not.

Vanessa gave such a warm smile as she looked up at Catherine who was standing and then back to Vincent.

"That's my favorite." Vanessa made known and Vincent gave a slight smile as his fingers rubbed the keys.

He pressed on the keys as he began to play the tune and then Vanessa hit the higher keys at the end and started to sing the Christmas carol.

"The first noel, the angel did say.." She sung and Catherine was surprised to hear Vincent join in on the tune. She watched them both sing the song and then her father started to sing in alto. She always thought it was a bit cheesy, especially in front of others but she thought she might as well sing along. They sung it every year and it was too far into her system for her to fight off the festivities.

Catherine laughed at how ridiculous the sounded, neither of them could sing but they still tried. Her dad wrapped his arm around her as the big note came around and she looked to Vincent who then smiled at her as he kept singing. They did their best and then the song came to an end and they all couldn't help but laugh.

Vanessa laughed the most as she brought her hands together. "Great!"

"How about this one?" Vincent mentioned as he went to play another holiday song. He started singing this time first and they all joined in. It didn't last long as Catherine heard foot steps near by. She looked up as she sung the song and then came to an abrupt stop when she saw Zach standing there in disbelief, like she was betraying him.

Catherine nudged her father who was still singing and he stopped when he looked up as well. Vanessa noticed their weird behavior and looked for herself to see her ex-son in-law or almost. Vincent slowly died down the keys as he saw Zach who was looking confused.

Vincent scratched the back of his head while Catherine tried to avoid any looks Zach was giving her. This definitely looked bad. First her house, then the dog shelter and now her 'client' was eating cookies and singing songs with her parents. Oh boy.

After a few moments, it was just Tom, Vincent and Zach sitting in the living room on the couch. Tom was shuffling the cards none stuff between his hands and smirked to himself as he looked to Vincent and Zach. He never said anything as the two of them just sat there in awkward silence.

Catherine peeped her head behind the wall to witness the painful situation in front of her. She looked back to her mom and shook her head.

"Mom! Why did you invite him?!" She asked, clearly referring to Zach.

"Well..I-I just thought it would be kind of lovely." She tried to justify as she shrugged her shoulders.

"To put me on the spot?!" Catherine asked as she threw her hands out.

"Well sweetheart I had no idea you were bringing a date and he is-

"Shh! Shh!" Catherine told her mom as she pulled her further behind the wall as she was barely whispering. "He is not a date, he is a client!" She sighed as she pushed some of her hair back.

"Anyways mom, it doesn't matter, okay? I already told you..I don't want to be with Zach." She said honestly and Vanessa gave her a look before settling and nodding her head.

"Please, _please_ just stop this whole..thing that you're doing." Catherine begged.

"What thing?!" Vanessa asked, oblivious to her actions. "If you mean Vincent..I mean I think he is just lovely AND available-

Catherine cut her mom off by bringing her hand up, signaling her to just zip it and stop. She looked to her mom with a serious expression.

"I'm not marrying anyone, okay?" She told her before walking away and Vanessa stood there, not believing her at all. There was no way her daughter was giving up on marriage.

Both Vincent and Zach looked up at Catherine as she walked back into the room and she gave a small smile, still not knowing what to say.

Since Catherine was lost for words, Tom decided to jump in like he always did.

"So..shall we play?" He asked as he held up the cards.

Catherine held her arms behind her back before looking to her dad to see what he was talking about and she squinted her eyes in disagreement.

"Oh Dad...I don't think this is the right time." She opposed and Zach perked with interest.

"I'll play." He said, sitting up on the couch and Catherine began to frown.

"That is..if anyone else is game." He said, looking over to Vincent.

Vincent smirked to himself, noticing Zach was actually trying to challenge him at the game he mastered in.

"Well Catherine did invite me over for game night." He remembered, joining in and Catherine snapped her fingers.

"He's right..I did." She spoke, rocking on her shoe heel and Zach nodded his head and smiled.

"Okay then, deal em up." He said to Tom.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thirty minutes later<strong>_

All of them were still in the game, protecting their cards and what little chips some of them had left. It was Catherine's turn as she eyed the cards in her hand. She looked to Vincent a couple of times who was sitting across from her. She had to admit, he was doing really good do far, she hated to admit that he was beating her. But she was still trying to win. She separated a certain amount of her chips and slid them forward to the dangerous betting pile.

"I bet forty." She said with her poker face active. Vincent looked to her and cheered on her move, knowing the hand he held.

"Call it." Zach said as he pushed his amount of chips in as well. Vincent remained with no expression as he waited for everyone else to go.

Tom stared down at his hand and huffed. "Fold." He stated as he dropped his hand on the table, giving up.

Vanessa struggled with her hand as well as she shook her head. She knew she didn't have a chance. "I'm out." She finally gave in and laid her cards out as well.

Vincent inhaled deeply before looking down at his chips. "I'm all in." He said with a assured laughed as he pushed all his chips in.

Catherine bit her lip and laid her cards down. "I fold." She quit, knowing she didn't have enough chips.

"I raise." Zach said as he stared at Vincent as he pushed the remainder of his chips in.

Catherine gave Zach a weird look at his decision.

"Um, Zach you don't have enough chips there..." Tom informed him and he went digging for his pocket.

He took out his car keys for everyone to see before putting it in the pile.

"Zach, what are you doing?" Catherine asked as she leaned over to him.

"I'm just raising the stakes." He said simply, like it was the logical thing to do.

Vincent looked to him before chuckling and Zach still kept his keys in place. "Are you serious? Your gonna bet your van?" He asked, not sure what he thought he was winning out of this.

Catherine sunk in her chair, knowing Zach didn't know what he was doing.

"It's a nice van but I don't need any plumbing supplies." Vincent joked and Zach tilted his head.

"It's not my van, it's my 57 Chevy." He revoked and Vincent noticed he was very much serious. "You in or not?"

Everyone looked to Vincent, hopping he'd say no and not go along with Zach's stupid bet. But Vincent wanted to take a chance, he didn't like losing. He hated it and the more Zach stared him down and gave a pleasing smirk, it trailed him in more and more. Vincent would take a risk and bet his Porsche.

"Yeah, I'm in. I'll bet my Porsche. I call." He said as he dropped his keys as well.

Catherine shut her eyes and rested her head in her folded hands.

A car was crunk to life and in it sat Zach in Vincent's Porsche. They all stood there outside the door at Zach enjoying his new car. Vincent, not believing he lost and Catherine shaking her head at the whole mess.

"I can't believe he's taking your car." She was sure that they would just drop the bet no matter who won.

Just then, Zach began rolling down the window.

"Ah see I knew it, he's just pulling our leg." Vanessa chimed in as Zach stopped backing out of the driveway.

He stuck his head out the window to talk to Catherine's parents.

"I'll come back tomorrow for my Chevy." He told them before shooting Vincent a look and backing out in his car.

Vincent stood there, wishing he'd just folded and accepting the lost.

Vanessa's mouth was open for a minute as Zach pulled off and she folded her arms as she went to walk back in the house.

"I'm gonna go call his mother." She said seriously as she paced to the nearest house phone.

Tom looked to his daughter and Vincent before sighing and walking back in the house with his wife.

Vincent stood there with Catherine who had nothing to say really as she looked to him. Vincent grimaced at the sound of Zach screeching the tires as he rode down the street.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Later<strong>_

The taxi rolled to a stop in front of Catherine's house as both of them sat in the backseat.

"Well..that didn't go as planned." Vincent said, thinking of the way he thought the night was heading and in no way was losing his expensive car in the plans.

Catherine had a smirk playing on her lips as she stared at Vincent. "Your lucky with cards huh?" She teased and he gave her a look and she grinned even more.

"I'll talk to Zach..." She offered as she went to get out the car.

"No. no.."Vincent refuted and she looked back at him.

"A bet is a bet.."

"Yeah.. but if my mom hadn't invited him, this never would of happened." She fought back, trying to get him to reason with her. He knew she was right.

Vincent looked to her and gave her a pestering look.

"Come on, it's nice to have a mom who cares." He reminded her, knowing he didn't what she did with her family.

Catherine nodded her head and looked to him. "I know. I just..don't want any pressure." She made aware and he continued to look at her. "Next time..I wanna know for sure." She thought out loud and Vincent furrowed his eyebrows and almost smiled at her words.

"Next time?" He asked and she gave him a puzzled look. "So your saying you haven't sworn off marriage for good?" He poked with a smile simmering and she realized what she had said and looked away with a small.

"I didn't say that." She returned, doing her best to stick to her "long term" plans.

Vincent smiled at her, she seemed like she was trying to convince herself. She finally opened the door and gave him a soft smile.

"Goodnight..Ace." She added with a smirk before hopping out the yellow vehicle.

Vincent nodded his head at her joking remark, "Oh..that's really nice of you. Thanks." He returned sarcastically as she shut the car door.

"See ya!" She said back to him as she made her way up the stairs on her porch. Vincent watched as she made her way in the house and told the man the man his address and then they pulled off. Vincent did a lot of thinking to himself on the ride home. One, he no longer had a car and two, he thought about what he really agreed to and was currently taking part in.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Morning<strong>_

Vincent had done plenty of thinking last night, unable to sleep. It kept bothering him and he knew what he had to do.

He stormed his way into Matt's office and it just flew from his mouth.

"Alright, the bet's off." He said to his best friend. This was a bet he was willing to lose.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**_

Mwuhahaha! ;) lol so? What'd you think? Again, i'm SO sorry I'm late! Real life got ahead of me. I recently moved out my apartment in Orlando and I'm going to a college closer to home for a year. It wasn't really my choice, but it is better for me right now. It was a whole thing about one of my classes and I flunked it so long story short, I'll be home for a year lol

ANYWAY, Did Vincent make the right choice? Is it really gonna be over? When will Catherine come to her senses and notice the gorgeous being, and potential soul mate, that is Vincent? Haha You'll love the next two chapters! Promise they'll be out sooner than you think, gosh I owe you guys so much!

I hope you all enjoy this! Please keep reading if you want and I hope everyone's 2015 has been great so far. 3

Night! :) Sorry if there's errors, i'm sleepy o.o


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